PMD: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk
by Esper13
Summary: Hope was a Human. That much she knew. But when she arrives at Conokamo island in an odd fashion, she isn't quite so sure. Hope meets Satou the Vulpix, who after a short introduction, asks if she might want to create an adventure squad with her. So begins an incredible tale in the world of Pokemon... Rated T for both minor and major injuries and occasional cussing.
1. Death?

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 1: Death…?

* * *

Hope's POV

A volcanic landscape was spread out below me. It was rocky, deep brown soil in all directions, except far away in the distance was a shimmer of blue sea. There were fiery rivers of orange lava spitting out from the tips of steep volcanoes all around me. A deep orange river of lava flowed beneath me.

That's when I realised I was floating. With no body.

Panic rising in my throat, I tried to gasp for air. It wasn't possible.

I was dead. It wasn`t very cheery, but at least I didn't fall into the streak of vermilion bubbling beneath me.

Then, my optimism really didn't help anything. A body was forming around my consciousness. I had weight.

I dropped like a stone into that accursed lava, and sank slowly through the thick liquid, shrieking all the while. The heat was unbearable. So unbearable that it's hard to find words that describe it well enough. I attempted to scream in the lava as well, but the Death stream stuffed itself down my esophagus, causing it to catch fire (at least it felt like it). My consciousness suddenly blurred and faded into oblivion.

* * *

?'s POV

"Thanks, Dewdrop!" I called to the retreating silhouette of a Lapras I had ridden north to Conokamo island.

"Don't mention it!" He replied as he swam away to continue his duties as a transport between Conokamo and Ishara islands.

I watched until Dewdrops outline faded into the distance, then turned to stroll along the beach to my destination.

_Heck yeah! _My mental voice cheered. _Finally, after a year and a half, I get to be part of an adventure squad__! Hmhmhmhmh, so excited! Rescuing people and finding treasure and arresting outlaws… now, if I remember correctly, the Federation is along the shore of the Glacier strait, non? _

My train of thought put on the emergency brakes when I noticed a strange Something at the edge of the water.

It was a Chikorita statue, made entirely of basalt. The faint outlines of large, ovular eyes were visible on the face. I stood there, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

_Reason #1, _I thought,_ someone made it. Why the helium would they put it here, though? …Maybe not. 'Kay, reason #2. It came from the eruption a few hours ago. How would it look THAT PERFECT, though…? …Uh…_

* * *

Hope's POV

"Hope. _Hope_."

"…Enh…?"

"**OI! HOPE!"**

"Wh- Gah!"

My eyes widened as I became aware that I was standing (on air, I might add) in a purpley-blue oblivion. In front of me stood an irritated-looking, glowing red Chikorita. It was she who had shouted at me. _Impossible, _I thought. _Pokemon are incapable of speaking the English language. _

"'Kay," she said in a rough, low voice, "so. Your objective is to get the Jewel and prevent eternal war. Got it?"

I stumbled backwards, shocked. What the Hello Kitty was that supposed to mean? I didn't even know her! Much less myself… Why was she ordering me around like this?

The Chikorita saw my confusion, and sighed. "Forgot, didn't she? Not surprised, not the first time she's done something like this…" She seemed to be talking more to herself than to me. Her head was hanging low, and her eyes were shut tight in frustration. Suddenly, her head whipped up, her leaf nearly knocking me in the face. Her eyes glowed a bright hot pink. Her mouth cracked into a sharp- toothed grin.

"You're breaking out."

I blinked. "What? How could I be stuck if-" She disappeared in a flash.

_Great, she ditched me. How bad can this day _get_? _I frowned at the oblivion around me.

Suddenly, I heard an eardrum-shattering _crack! _around me. I glanced around worriedly, wondering what the _heck _that could have been, since there wasn't anything here to even pop, much less crack.

The oblivion faded from indigo to black.

* * *

?'s POV

I stood there in disbelief, watching as the statue smashed open, revealing an actual Chikorita. It seemed to be almost (or already) dead. There was a slash across its forehead. Panicking slightly, I checked its blood pulse with my paw. It beat very, very faintly. I turned and ran, shouting, "HELP! SOMEONE'S DYING!

-End of Chapter 1-

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, bit of a cliffhanger here... I've nothing else to say...**

**Dewdrop and the red C****hikorita are property of me, Esper12.**

**Disclaimer: I did not create Pokemon. It is property of Nintendo.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	2. Realisation

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 2: Realisation

* * *

Hope's POV

"Ughh…" I groaned as my eyes slowly opened. When my vision cleared, I saw that there was a female Vulpix and a male Pidgeot with a scar shaped like a Z on his left cheek standing over me, watching.

I was in a small circular dirt room, about the size of a small bedroom, lying on a bed of hay. It wasn't that uncomfortable, actually. To the right of me was a doorway with no actual door. I could see the sky through it, cerulean blue with a few wisps of clouds drifting across it. Directly across from the doorway sat a large red iron treasure chest.

I rolled onto my stomach and stood up. I realised two things; one, that I was only slightly bigger than the Vulpix, and two, that my legs were awfully short, meaning I had to stand on all fours.

I was suddenly enveloped within a bone-crunching hug from the Vulpix.

"Aww, yeah! You're awake! I thought you were a goner!" she shrieked with delight. The Pidgeot gave her an ominous look, which clearly meant, _That__ can wait for _after _the patient has healed_.

The Vulpix quickly released me, blushing slightly. I tumbled onto the floor, landing on my tailbone. After a moment of dull pain, I stood again, making a mental note to stay at least a foot away from her.

"Sorry about that, chikorita." The Vulpix apologised. I blinked, wondering if I was hearing her correctly.

"I-I'm not a chikorita, I'm a human!" I stammered. She stared at me blankly.

* * *

Vulpix's POV

"Well, you sure _look _like a Chikorita…" I muttered. "Maybe you got hit on the head or something."

The chikorita slowly took a look at her body, a look of frightened realisation spreading across her face. "I-I really _am_ a Chikorita! Leaf and all!"

I rolled my eyes, grinning. "Took you long enough."

She gave me a worried look. "I _was _a human_…_ I'm not lying or crazy…"

The Chikorita seemed pretty honest, though human to Pokémon transformation is impossible. I shrugged. "I guess I believe you. What's your name?" I asked. "I'm Satou."

"My name's… Hope. Nice to meet ya." Hope replied.

I remembered something. "Oh yeah. There's a huge gash on your forehead. Thought you might want to know."

Hope stared at me. "Well that's… comforting…" she replied with careful sarcasm.

"Where did you come from?" the Pidgeot (named Hane) queried suddenly. "We might be able to go there and figure out what happened."

Hope frowned. "That's another problem. I seem to be missing all of my memories but two. That my name's Hope and I was a human. Other than that, well…" She sighed deeply and hung her head.

Hane smiled sadly. "Don't worry. We'll find out some other way. Anywho, you should get some rest. Being deprived of oxygen for any length of time is bad for your health."

"Don't be silly," Hope giggled. "I'm perfectly-" Suddenly, Hope tumbled sideways onto the ground, snoring loudly.

Smirking, Hane nudged her back onto the bed. "Don't say I didn't tell you so," he murmured.

_...Several hours later…_

* * *

Hope's POV

"…Uh… what now?" I asked. My seven hour sleep had refreshed me, and now I needed something to do, or I would probably explode from all the energy whirling around inside of me.

Satou blushed slightly at this. _What on Earth or elsewhere is she thinking about? _I wondered. _Scratch that, I don't want to know… _

"H-hope? Do you… want to-" Satou was interrupted by the sounds of running feet and bawling.

I whipped around and was nearly bulldozed by a crying Elekid, eyes shining with tears.

"Jen got lost!" he wailed.

Hane rushed over and wrapped a wing around the Elekid, calming him slightly. "Start from the beginning," he said calmly.

"We were playing in the woods by Mirror Lake, and Jen said, 'I want to go look at something', and I was building a tree house, and then when I was done, I went to look for her, and I searched and searched, and I never found her!" he replied, again breaking into tears in the middle of his report.

"What kind of Pokémon is Jen?" asked Satou politely. I looked at her, unsure of where she was going with this.

"She's a Pichu," the elekid sniffed. "Please go find her…"

"Why didn't you go to the Federation and ask for an Adventure squad to help?" Hane questioned, a bit sternly.

The Elekid hung his head. "I did, but there were no squads available…" he sighed.

Satou replied with so much force that I jumped. "We'll do it!" She fist pumped, but stopped mid-pump. Satou glanced at me. "Won't we?" she asked.

I pondered it for a moment, then answered, "Sure, why not? I mean, it's not very pleasant, losing your friend in a forest. I'm in."

Satou's eyes sparkled. "Thank you," she breathed. She looked at Hane. "What about you? Are you coming?" she asked.

But he shook his head. "Maybe not. I have to inform Jen's parents that you're searching for her. I can give you a map, though, since neither of you are from around here."

Hane turned and walked over to his chest, kicking it open with his right talon. Reaching inside of it with the same talon, he drew out a scroll of parchment and unrolled it. Hane turned around and spread it out onto the floor. It was a map of the island and the two that apparently surrounded it.

Conokamo Island was shaped roughly like a circle for the most part, but to the east was a dent in the circle, a bit like an oval, labeled 'Glacier strait'. There was also a thick outcrop of land to the north, slowly curving to the northeast. There was also one similar to that to the west.

Ishara Island was south of Conokamo, and was shaped like a cross between a W and a fat worm. With a shudder, I noticed it was the only island with volcanoes.

Pechigi Island was apparently covered with snow and ice. It looked like a Y that had too many hamburgers, and was northeast of Conokamo.

Satou looked up from the map and smiled at Hane. "Thanks! We'll make good use of it," she said, rolling it up and grabbing it tightly with her teeth. "Off we go, Hope!" she proclaimed through her mouthful of parchment.

I grinned. "We go off," I agreed. I turned and strode out the door, Satou following closely.

-End of Chapter 2-

* * *

**A/N:Lots and lots of words. Muahaha! }:D Bull horns!**

** Meh, sorry if those descriptions weren't very good. But I'm trying, mmkay? Also, thank you Almiaranger for accepting it into your group and giving it a review! I probably would've called it quits on this if no one aknowlaged it after a couple of weeks... **

**Hope, Hane, and Jazz(the Elekid) are property of me, Esper12.**

**Satou is property of NewYearJirachi.**

**Disclaimer: I did not create Pokemon. It is property of Nintendo.**

**May your ****sails stay full and your socks stay dry! **


	3. Team Snapdragon

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 3: Team Snapdragon

* * *

Hopes POV

"Still sure we're not lost?" I asked Satou sarcastically.

"We're not lost, we're just, uh, off track," Satou stammered as she looked up from the map.

We had been lost for a while, maybe 30 minutes, in the woods around Mirror Lake. We were _supposed_ to be finding Jen, but _nooooo_, Satou had to go and get us lost.

"How about we ditch the map and just look randomly?" I grumbled as we followed the path we had been on for about ten minutes.

Satou gave me a tired look. "It's Hanes map, not ours. We can't just throw it into a random bush and-" She was interrupted by the sounds of crunching leaves and growling, and the map dropped from her mouth. A Poochyena glared at Satou, who was clearly scared out of her underwear.

She took a step backwards, shaking slightly. "Umm… h-hi… sorry, we were just-" Satou was cut off as the Poochyena rammed into her with a tackle attack.

"Eeeeyowch!" She screeched as she slid across the grass and dead leaves.

I stared on in shock, not doing a thing. I wanted to help, but I couldn't remember the moveset that Chikoritas had…

Satou struggled to stand, and the Poochyena whomped her with another tackle. Her back slammed into a tree, and she slid down to the ground, bruised and bleeding from several cuts.

A growl rose in my throat as I glared at the Poocheyena. What right did he have to do this to the person who saved my life? The moveset of my current level came to me suddenly: tackle and growl. I growled louder and louder, until it eventually turned into a shriek of rage as I plowed into the Poochyena. "Have a taste of _my _tackle!"

The Poochyena flew through the air, landing in a small bush. I raced over there and mashed the potatoes out of him with another tackle. He collapsed, defeated and unconscious, into the leaves of the bush.

Satisfied, I hurried back to Satou, who had picked herself up from the leaves and was panting slightly. "You okay?" I asked her worriedly. She nodded, still panting.

"These'll heal over time… and there's an Oran berry over there," Satou gestured with her nose. Following her line of sight, I saw a blueberry-like berry, about the size of a golf ball, in a patch of dandelions. She walked over to it, limping slightly. Satou picked it up with her teeth and tossed it into the air, catching it in her mouth. She chewed hungrily, cheeks bulging, and swallowed, a look of relief spreading through her chocolate brown eyes. Her bruises faded to mere blotches, and her cuts stopped bleeding and sealed slightly.

"Let's keep looking," Satou said, grinning at my astonishment and picking up the map again.

We plodded on, running into a caterpie. Satou winced slightly, then, inhaling oxygen through her mouth, spat out an ember attack at it. The caterpie screeched, turned tail, and ran, not before getting scorched by the embers.

Later, my cut started stinging viciously, and after a few minutes of searching, I found an Oran berry. I scarfed it down, happily noticing that my cut had healed somewhat.

A while later, I noticed a small seed by an Oran tree. I walked over to it and picked it up. It was tinted aqua, with three circles that looked suspiciously like bubbles on it. I was about to take a bite out of it when it was suddenly slapped out of my claw by Satou.

"Don't eat that! It's a Sleep seed!" she told me worriedly. "It makes you fall asleep."

My annoyance was overcome by my relief that she had done that. I frowned. "What's it good for, then?" I asked.

Satou smirked. "Watch and learn, my young Padawan." She did a 180 and whipped the seed at a Pidove that had been creeping up behind her. As if on cue, his beak dropped open in shock and the seed flew in. Immediately, the Pidoves eyes drooped and he curled up on the ground, snoring.

I stared at her incredulously. "Where did you learn all this stuff?" I queried.

Satou shrugged. "I read it in a book about adventure squad items," she replied.

I was about to ask about that, but I had to be interrupted oh-so-rudely by a branch that snapped behind me. I snapped around, and caught a glimpse of a Pichu dashing off through the forest. "Jen," I breathed.

* * *

Satous POV

"After her," I hissed to Hope, and we sprinted after her, Hope shouting, "Hold it! Jen! We're here to help!"

She looked back, and must've decided I wasn't lying because she gradually slowed to a halt.

We trotted up to her, me following closely behind Hope. Jen looked up at me, curious, but I could also glimpse a sort of annoyedness in her jet black eyes.

"…Help? I don't need help. I'm fine," she said, blinking at .

I dropped the map and looked at Jen pointedly. "Oh? Why wasn't that Elekid-"

"Jazz," she muttered. "Her name's Jazz."

"Why wasn't _Jazz_," I sighed. "…able to find you?"

Jen blinked. "Because I didn't want him to," she said plainly. "I was going to be in an adventure squad."

I frowned. "Aren't you a little… _young _for that?" I queried reproachingly.

Jen bit her lip. "Uh…"

"That's settled, then. We take you back," Hope stated.

She frowned, and her ears drooped. "B-but…"

I stepped forward and rubbed cheeks with Jen, who flinched slightly. "Hey, they're all worried back there. Come on," I urged gently.

She quivered, so I bribed her with the promise that she would ride on Hopes back. Hope glared at me.

With a sigh, Jen swung herself onto Hopes spine, whose eyes screwed up for a second with the sudden weight. "Good answer," I told Jen. Then, to Hope: "Onward, cow!" I picked up the map in my mouth again.

She smirked. "I'm a horse!" she replied in a high, whiny voice. Hope then turned, careful not to knock Jen off, to head back to Hane. She marched off, me skipping alongside her.

I spent most of the trip trying to summon the courage to ask the question that I had been trying to ask since I had first learned Hopes name. _It's not like it matters if she says no, _I thought. _I'll just ask someone else. …No, I like Hope. I want to be her friend, though she's a bit weird. She has no one. No one but me and possibly Hane. …I-it's settled, then._

I cleared my throat loudly. Hope looked at me with her crimson eyes. "Hope?" I began. "W-would you like to be in an adventure squad with me?"

There, it was out. She'll say no. Hope looked at me strangely. "What exactly _is_ an adventure squad? I've heard the name before, but I don't actually know what they are," she asked. I sighed inwardly with relief and placed the map on the ground, stopping. Hope stopped beside me, Jen staring at me curiously.

"An adventure squad is a group of Pokémon who help other Pokémon," I explained. "They rescue Pokémon, find lost items, go exploring for treasure, and even arrest outlaws at times."

Hope was listening to me, her chin dragging along the ground. Suddenly it snapped shut and spread into a wide smile. "I'll do it!" she exclaimed happily.

It was probably the best day of my life. I nearly fainted with joy. Trying to restrain myself from jumping all over the place, I broke into a wide grin. "Thank you," I breathed. "We need a team name, though. Any ideas?"

"Hmm, no…" Hope muttered, looking around at the trees. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she turned back to me, eyes sparkling.

"Team Snapdragon."

-End of Chapter 3-

* * *

**A/N: Well, then! Another chapter completed! Quite quickly, too… Almiaranger, I will hug you. You're pretty much the only person who pays attention to this, along with Something dictionary related. Thanks to you both. ;)**

**Now, peepahz, ya wants to review? I like people who give feedback on how I'm doing with this. Please, don't keep quiet!**

…**But flames will be sat on and smothered. XD**

**Hope and Jen are property of me, Esper12.**

**Satou is property of NewYearJirachi.**

**I don't own Pokemon. That's Nintendo, sorry.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	4. The Federation

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 4: The Federation

* * *

Hanes POV

I sat on an indigo cushion, trying to control my instinct rip it to shreds. I hated that colour; what it stood for…

I shook my head, earning a strange look from Hope as she resumed pacing. I wasn't going to lose control; not here, not now. The children didn't need another reason to be nervous.

Hope and Satou had brought back Jen safely, which Jazz and Jens parents, Chukira (a Togekiss) and Blackshoe (a Raichu), were extremely glad of. Chukira had given us 200 Poké and a Cheri Berry, thanking us profusely. Satou currently was holding the bag with the reward in it in her paws, playing with the string it was tied in.

"The sensei shall see you now," My head jerked up as I was torn from my thoughts. I looked at the Ampharos who had spoken. She wore a Scope lens on her left eye. Boy, she was pretty… _Nonono, your thoughts are screwing up. No ladies for you! _

The Ampharos raised her eyebrows. "Didn't you hear me?" I nodded and stood, Satou and Hope lining up beside me. "Good. Now, come. We haven't got all day," she said.

We followed her down a brightly lit, white stone hallway. Hope and Satou peeked in the doorways that lined each side. I had no reason; I'd been in here many, many times. Yet I did anyway. I saw libraries, bedrooms, classrooms, storage rooms. There was even an exercise room filled with weights and sandbags. Looking through one, I saw a dark staircase that I knew led to the dungeons where the outlaws and troublemakers were kept tied in sticky cocoons made by Officer Arkide himself. I shivered, and turned away to catch up with the Ampharos, urging the children to do the same.

She stopped at the door at the end of the hallway and whipped around, nearly hitting me in the face with her tail. "Sooty-sensei is through here. Be courteous, and address him as Sensei at all times," she instructed before heading down the hall again. I sighed, then pushed the children gently through the blue curtain with my wings before following.

The senseis chamber. I had to fight not to turn tail and sprint out of there. The torches. The red rug. The crates filled with valuables. Horrible, horrible memories…

I was ripped from my thoughts yet again when the Stoutland on the rug spoke. "Hello. I am Sooty-sensei, leader of the Pokémon Adventure Squad Federation, or PASF. I understand you wish to create an Adventure Squad?" His X-ray specs teetered precariously on his nose.

We nodded. "Yes, Sensei," our small group spoke. The sensei chuckled.

"Just Sooty is fine, children," he protested. "I don't know what Marg's been telling you…" Sooty shook his head, then seemed to notice me.

His eyes widened when he saw the scar on my cheek. _Oh Arceus, not now, not when everything's just begun, _I pleaded, perspiring. Then, Sooty relaxed, probably thinking it was a coincidence or a trick of the light. I relaxed, thanking Jirachis stars that he wasn't thinking deeply.

"So, have you any references?" Sooty asked.

Satou shrugged. "Well, we saved a little Pichu in Mirror Lake forest, if that counts for anything," she replied.

The senseis mouth grazed the floor before snapping shut. "That's probably the best recommendation possible!" he exclaimed. "So, have you thought of a name for your squad?" Sooty asked.

"Snapdragon squad," we chorused.

Sooty nodded in appreciation. "Good name. I'll register you… soon. Anywhere to stay?" he queried.

"They'll stay at Joy Hill with me," I replied.

"Good. Now… MARG!" he shouted. My eardrums nearly broke from the force of his yell, and I covered my ears, Hope and Satou having already done so.

"Already got the Rucksack, Sensei." I wheeled around to look at the Ampharos (probably Marg), who had walked through the curtain behind us, holding a brown drawstring bag. It was about the size of a human book bag, and had quite a few small pockets on the side. With a bored look on her face, she set it down between us and Sooty, then bowed and stood by the door.

"Well? Open it up!" Sooty chided. Hope walked forward and pulled the opening open. Satou and I watched over her shoulder.

* * *

Hopes POV

Inside the bag there were three badges and a piece of technology that looked like a headset. I picked a badge out and stared at it. It was a white, elliptical badge, with two rosy wings situated on both of the long sides. In the center, there was a small, four pointed star shaped button the same colour as the wings. The two other badges were identical to this one.

"That's a Squad badge," Sooty explained. "You can teleport home immediately after you finish a job with that. There are other functions, but since I have many other people to see, you'll have to figure them out for yourself. Mmkay?"

We nodded and let ourselves be shooed out of the room by Marg, the sensei calling, "Happy adventures!"

Our newly formed Snapdragon Squad followed Marg back down the hall to the waiting room again, me where a Deino, a Dratini, and a Trapinch were seated on the cushions.

Surprisingly, Marg gave us a small smile and said, "May the winds of fortune flutter your sails and warm your cheek."

Hane smiled. Then, nudging us out the door, I noticed the tension in his body that had been there since we had arrived at the PASF vanish.

"The sun's setting. We should head back," he noted. After a moment: "Want a ride?"

Satou and I nodded vigorously. Hane bent down until he was parallel to the ground and spread his wings. I clambered on, followed closely by Satou. I sat just behind his neck, a certain Vulpix clinging on behind me. Straightening up slightly, Hane pushed off with his talons, flapping hard. Soon, we were airborne.

I smiled. The sensation was wonderful. Feeling like all your problems had stayed on the ground… I sighed. Looking back, I saw the vast white fortress of the Federation getting further and further behind us, already the size of an Iapapa berry to look at it from here.

In what felt like no time at all, we were landing on the ground in front of the cave in Joy Hill. I disembarked, Satou following suit. Hane straightened up and shook out his feathers, much like a Growlithe would his fur.

Entering the small dirt room, I curled up on my bed, yawning. Satou lay down on another and Hane perched on top of a small Figy berry tree on the very top of the hill, tucking his head under a wing. I soon drifted off, exhausted from the days' events.

I opened my eyes to bright sunlight in my face. Stretching, I glanced over to Satous bed to see that she was not there. _Great, I love it when people ditch me,_ I thought bitterly.

I took the headset thing out of the Rucksack, and stared at it. It was dark gray in colour, with slightly lighter spots on the headphones. There was a receiver looking antenna thing on the top of both headphones. I saw a word, _I-mech_, printed on the side of the left headphone. On the right headphone there were four buttons; a power button, a keyboard button, a mouse button, and a screen button.

I put it on my head. I wondered if it would fit, because it looked a bit too big, but it shrank to fit when it touched my skin.

Exiting the room, I looked at the top of the hill to see Satou and Hane munching on Figy berries. Hane waved me to the top, his cheeks round. Swallowing, he said, "Have some breakfast! Here," he grabbed a Figy from a branch and tossed it to me. "…try some! It's not all that bad," Hane said, scarfing another bite out of his Figy berry.

I caught it, and bit into it. I immediately wished I hadn't. The amount of sheer spiciness in it was enough to partially light my mouth on fire. I spat out the chunk I had bitten off of the main Figy into the grass, and ran to a stream at the bottom of the hill.

I slurped water crazily, filling my mouth and then spitting it out. I did this multiple times, occasionally clawing at my tongue.

"You okay?" I turned to see Hane standing beside me, his face wrought with concern.

I nodded, grimacing. "That Figy berry was a bit too hot for me," I replied. Then, I noticed something purple from the corner of my eye.

Turning my head to look at it, I saw it was one of a field of purple clovers. I dashed over to it, snatching it up into my mouth, stem and all. I chewed on it briefly, then swallowed, relishing the tiny drops of honey I knew were inside the flower.

I then went on to eat another clover, and another, and another, until I was full and happy. I sat down on the grass, careful to not squash the clovers. Satou trotted over and sprawled out beside me, grooming her paws.

I pressed the power button on the I-mech with my right claw, then pressed the screen and mouse buttons also. A small transparent screen, tinted green, popped out of the right headphone. A small silver bracelet dropped out of the left headphone, and I attached it to my right wrist. Looking at the screen, I saw that the I-mech was set up very much like an iPod. There was an email app, a bulletin board app, a mailbox app, a photo app, a music app, a Pokedex app, a team stats app, Angry Birds (lol, don't ask dB), and an options app.

I clicked on the photo app with my bracelet mouse, then clicked on the sample pictures. I scrolled through them, stopping to look at a picture of sunlight shining through a prism, creating a rainbow. I stared at it, thinking, _Boy, that's pretty…_.

Suddenly, the slice on my forehead seared with pain, and, feeling faint, I collapsed onto my side, hearing Hanes and Satous voices as if from far away…

-End of Chapter 4-

* * *

**A/N: Je sais, je sais, that was a horrible place to end. Aren't I awesome? dB****Yup**

**Hope just loves fainting, it's her hobby. XD**

***coughreviewcough***

**I came up with the I-mech (it stands for Infinity mechanism; there's not a lot you can't do with it) on Tuesday when our class was playing Capture the Flag.**

**Marg is the name of the secretary at my school… ;-; Jirachi eyes**

**Hope, Hane, Sooty, and Marg all belong to me, Esper12.**

**Satou belongs to NewYearJirachi.**

**All Pokémon species and terms belong to ****Nintendo/Game freak/Creatures/The Pokémon Company.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	5. Fog

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 5: Fog

Satous POV

I sat on the dirt floor of Joy Hill, waiting patiently for Hope to wake up. She lay on her bed, unconscious. The herbivore had turned out to be more trouble than she was worth. First nearly suffocating in a block of basalt, now fainting merely a day later!

I glanced back at Hopes face. It freaked me out a bit. Her eyes were wide open and a solid red colour. The cut on her forehead was also glowing with a bright scarlet light. Hane was bent over her, staring intently at it. The cut, I mean.

Suddenly, with a slight gasp from all three of us, Hane pulled a long, sharp object out of it with his talon.

I stared at Hane. "What the heck are you _doing_?" I asked, weirded out by his… strange behavior.

Hane dropped the thing on the floor and examined it. I walked over to look at it too. It looked like a shard of glass covered in blood.

'Ummm…." I looked at Hane quizzically, waiting for an answer.

Hane turned to look at me. "I saw something shining in Hopes forehead earlier, and when she fainted, I had a suspicion I wanted to look into. Good thing too, or else she might've gotten sliced even worse," he explained.

"Do I hear people talking about me?" I spun around, hitting something with my tails, to see Hope rubbing her cheek.

"That really didn't help the fact that my head feels like it was put through a blender, you know…" she muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Sorry. So, have any more plans to faint?" I asked.

Hope ignored my sarcastic question and instead gazed around the cave. "Whatcha looking for?" I inquired.

Her eyes lit up, she sped over to the wall opposite the cave entrance, and she put on the I-mech. "This," Hope replied.

Hopes POV

I turned on the I-mech and the screen. After pressing the mouse button and clipping the wireless mouse ring around my right foreleg, I clicked on the bulletin board app. A list of jobs popped up, from finding a Kadabras spoon to capturing a wily Electrike.

I scrolled down the list, searching. Finally, near the bottom, I found what I was looking for.

_Punish that Murkrow!_

_I was out shopping this morning, and all of a sudden this Murkrow comes up from behind me, swipes me across the back, and steals all my Poké! Please get it back for me… I'll even give you some of it as a reward! The Murkrow flew off to Mt. Kasumi. _

_Garnet the Tranquill_

"I watched this happen…" I muttered. "While I was unconscious, I mean. It was like a dream, only real. I guess you could call it a vision."

"What are you talking about?" Hane asked.

I turned the screen outwards so that Satou and Hane could read the job description. Their eyes became wide.

"What do you say we take this job? It doesn't sound too hard. Find the Murkrow, kick his tail feathers, get the money, lock the Murkrow in the deepest, darkest, dankest dungeon we can find, give Ga-netto back her money, and be back in time for supper." I said.

"Makes no difference to me," Hane replied, shrugging. "I need something to do, anyway. What about you, Satou?"

Satou nodded, but stayed silent.

"Oh yeah… I need food." My stomach started growling just as I was ending the sentence.

Satou made a face. "Yup, you need food. Go find it if you want it. Hane and I'll stay here."

"You guys want some too?" I offered.

"Sure," they replied.

I turned off the I-mech and tucked the mouse ring in its slot before I took it off and placed it on the floor. I picked up the bag we had gotten from Sooty (which (I _think_)was called a rucksack), hung it around my neck like a satchel, and raced out the door.

I searched the forest around Joy Hill for berries. Near a fallen Nanab berry tree, I found a Razz berry bush. I snacked on the ripe Razz berries for a while. I disliked the spiciness, but they were edible, so I didn't complain.

Hanes POV

While Hope was finding food, Hane and I discussed Hopes weird… situation.

"She's not unusual, other than the fact that she says she's a human," Hane mused.

"Your definition of 'unusual' needs maintenance if fainting doesn't fall under that category, Hane," I muttered.

Hane sighed. "Yes, I know fainting is weird. That, and her name. 'Hope' isn't a Pokémon name, it's a human name."

"And so…?" I pressed.

"I'm getting to that-" Hane stopped and turned his head to look out the door. Following his gaze, I saw that Hope had come back with the rucksack bulging full. She was looking from me to Hane to me again, trying to figure out what we were talking about before she had stepped in. Hope walked over to the center of the room, where Hane and I were standing.

"So, I take it you heard a bit of what we were talking about?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Something like, 'Hope is a weird name'. Kind of impolite, if you ask me," Hope replied. "What were you getting at, Hane?"

Hane hesitated. "I think you need an alias, Hope. A fake name. Someone's bound to have suspicions if a Pokémon has a human name." he stated.

Hope smirked. "I don't know whether to think that's cheesy spy crap or cool spy crap, but let's go with cool." She paused. "What makes a human name different from a Pokémon name?"

"Human names are actually names, like Ryan or Cassidy," I explained. "Pokémon names are either words or a combination of words. 'Satou' is Japanese for 'sugar', and 'hane' is Japanese for 'feather' or 'wing'."

Hope stared at the wall for a long time, so long that I feared she had fallen asleep with her eyes open, like a Wigglytuff I had read about once. Suddenly, Hope jerked herself out of her imaginary world and announced, "I think my alias will be 'Leafbud'. Sound good?"

I nodded. "Sounds Pokémon enough. Now, let's go catch that idiot Murkrow, shall we?"

_Mt. Kasumi_

"Sure lives up to its name, huh?" Hane remarked, frustrated. "'Kasumi' means 'mist' in Japanese."

A white fog enveloped us to the point that we could hardly see four feet in front of us, and what we could see was hazy and blurred. It drove me crazy, but it must've been worse for Hane, seeing as he was used to having superior sight.

My stomach growled, even though I had eaten my fill of Razz berries merely 15 minutes-ish ago. I hated when it played with my mind like that and tried to get me to eat more food. There were a few Oran berries and a Pecha berry in the rucksack I was carrying, but I knew I'd need those for later.

"Hey, Satou." I turned to Hope, who had been the one speaking. "What're these?" She nudged a small pile of smooth, elliptical grey stones.

"Those are Gravelrocks. You throw them at enemies to deal damage," I explained, picking them up and storing them in an empty pouch in the rucksack.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp beak Pecking my tails. I dashed forward before whipping around, greeted by a sharp peck in the nose.

"Hane! What the hell are you _doing_?!" I screeched, rubbing my stinging nose, partly alarmed and partly frustrated.

"Ooh, watch your mouth, girly. My name's not Hane, it's Fogspin. Got that? Defog!" I heard a flurry of flapping, which blew away a good portion of the mist.

I assessed my surroundings. There wasn't much other than the ground. There were multiple large boulders, light brown in colour. Hope was standing a few feet to my right, blinking at the sudden sunlight. I saw Hane standing a couple metres in front of us, looking around.

The Murkrow we were looking for (I'm guessing he was Fogspin) was perched on a boulder to our left. He held a navy blue purse in his left talon, which I guessed held Garnets money. He smirked evilly. "Looks like a squad! You want this, come and get it!

Fogspin dropped the purse, hopped into the air, flapped straight up, and twisted into a dive.

-End of Chapter 5-

**A/N: ...…...SUVHZBKDFUJVGYZ WHY DID I NOT FINISH THIS EARLIER** **NNN *cough* …You have every right to be mad at me for taking this flipping long. It was, let's see, 57 days since I finished Chapter 4. THAT'S ALMOST 2 MONTHS FUUU- Ahh, well. At least I finished 3 ½ animes. :P **

…**Well, that ending sucked. Losing my touch, methinks. Playing emulators too much is bad for my writing skills.**

**Congrats, NYJ, you've figured it out! You get internet fudge as your prize! (How did you figure it out nnn I didn't tell anyone)**

**Hope, Hane, Garnet, and Fogspin all belong to me, Esper12.**

**Satou belongs to NewYearJirachi.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	6. Gratitude

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 6: Gratitude

* * *

Hopes POV

Hane dodged quickly out of Fogspins line of fire, and Fogspin pulled up sharply to avoid having his beak introduced to the dirt. Quick as a flash, Hane Attacked him with his left Wing, which knocked him out of the sky.

Fogspin flipped back onto his talons and sprinted towards me instead, beak shining with a Peck attack ready. I bolted to my right, but I couldn't manage to get away from him, so I whipped around and repeatedly Growled at him, hoping to reduce some of the super-effectiveness of his Flying-type moves.

When his beak punctured my shoulder, I winced in pain. It felt like a flipping kitchen knife! I scooted backwards as fast as I could, watching as Satou prepared to fire an Ember attack from behind. Fogspin was still digging his beak into my shoulder, so I bit him on the cheek.

He skittered backwards, yowling in pain. Satou exhaled her Ember attack onto Fogspins feathers, which ignited quickly. He fell to the ground and rolled around, trying frantically to put out the flames.

I extended two of my buds into vines, and wrapped them around Fogspin. He kicked his talons, trying frantically to get away, so I squeezed him until he stopped struggling.

I smirked. "That was miraculously quick. You've got more bark than bite, you know," I told Fogspin, who was sulking.

Hane flapped over to Garnets purse and picked it up with his beak. He shook it. I heard a slight clink.

"Yep, this is the money," Hane announced. "Let's get back to-"

I felt a sharp pain in one of my vines, and immediately dropped Fogspin. The jerk had bitten me. He smirked, wheeled around, and tried to fly away.

Hane Quickly Attacked him before he could get far and pinned him down. I tied him up again, taking care to also tie his beak shut. Fogspin glared at me.

"Baka," I muttered.

I realised there was a warm liquid seeping down my right foreleg. I looked down, and saw that the place where Fogspin had Pecked me was bleeding pretty badly.

"Damn basta-"

"Now, now, there are children reading this, Leafbud," Hane chided. **(ZOMG HANE BROKED THE FOURTH WALL)**

Satou snorted as she dug an Oran berry out of the rucksack. She tore it in half and offered a piece to me. "You'll probably want this."

I took it, and scarfed it down. It tasted like a gigantic blueberry, except a lot moreso. "Thanks," I said to Satou, whose nose wasn't quite so sliced up anymore.

I looked down at my shoulder again. It had stopped bleeding, but it was still sore. My leg was also covered in blood. I sighed at the sight. "This's gonna be hard to clean up without water," I said.

I retracted my vines so that Fogspin was strapped to my back. I started walking down the mountain, followed by Satou and Hane.

During our descent, I noted, "The sun's setting."

"Guess we won't be back in time to eat supper," Satou giggled.

I rolled my eyes. "You and Hane can go find Garnet and give her the purse. I'll go take this idiot to the Federation," I told them.

"I'm not deaf, you know," Fogspin muttered from his position on my back.

* * *

Hanes POV

"This, Satou, is Spire Village."

Satou gazed around at the colourful shops and houses, gaping slightly. I named the shops as we walked by them.

"That's CaféMochas Café," I pointed as we strolled along. "And that's Ganders Bank, and Getsues Item Shop."

We walked on to go find Garnets house. I knew where it was. We were friends.

Satou and I stopped at her small magenta house. I knocked on the door and called, "Special delivery for Miss Garnet!"

We heard the clicking of talons on the wooden floor inside, then the squeak of the door handle turning. Garnet opened the door. She smiled at us.

"Thanks!" she said, taking her purse and opening it up. "You're on a squad now?"

I nodded. "Yep, Snapdragon squad. Satou here is also on it, along with a Chikorita named Leafbud," I told her.

"Will you tell Leafbud I said thanks too, please?" Garnet asked Satou. "Also, will 600 Poké do as a reward?"

She handed Satou the money, who stared at it in disbelief.

"What, not enough?" Garnet laughed. "In that case, I-"

"No, no, it's not that," Satou assured her. "It's just that I've never seen this much Poké in one place before."

"Ohhhh," Garnet replied quietly. "Anyway, Hane, will you… go on a date with me sometime?"

I could feel the skin under the feathers on my face turning a bright red. "Um, n-no thanks," I stammered.

Garnet sighed. "Oh, well. Good luck with your squad, you two. See you later," she said, shutting her door.

"Bye," I called through the closed door, then turned and started walking back the way I came, Satou trotting along beside me.

We stopped at Ganders Bank on the way back. Gander was an Ursaring with a shiny yellow ring on his belly, as golden as a coin. We deposited 200 Poké into our squad bank account, keeping the rest for anything we might need to buy.

We walked the rest of the way home after that, tired out by the work we had done.

* * *

Hopes POV

I knocked on the door to Officer Arkides office. A masculine voice commanded, "Come in." I nudged open the door with my left shoulder, careful not to let go of Fogspin, who was struggling again.

I walked into the office to see a couple of crates, a blue rug, and a Galvantula, Arkide, standing on that rug. He smiled at me, which faded into a scowl when he shifted his eyes to Fogspin.

"Thank you for catching a wanted criminal," the officer told me. "Let us head down to the dungeons to lock him up."

We walked across the hall, down the stairs, and through the smelly hallway of the dungeons. Instead of prison cells, there were large white cocoons, some larger than others. We stopped at an empty space.

Arkide then started spinning a new cocoon out of his silk. He did it fairly quickly. Before long, it was half finished.

"Place the Murkrow inside," Arkide ordered. I did as he said, careful not to touch the sticky silk. He finished spinning the cocoon soon after, leaving a tiny hole at the top for food and air.

We walked back to his office after that. Arkide gave me an orange Power band as a reward and thanked me again. I turned around, and was about to walk back home, when he called after me, "Just a minute."

I glanced back at him. He walked up to me, and stared at my shoulder. It weirded me out.

"You should get Margarine to bandage that up," he said to me.

"I'm perfectly fine," I protested.

"It'll get infected, and you were limping," Arkide told me.

"But it's barely a scratch now," I muttered.

He rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself."

I walked out the door, down the hall, and back outside. The sun had just barely set, and it was quite dark. Spurred by a sudden burst of energy, I sprinted through the woods toward Joy Hill. I only slowed when I could see the silhouette of the Hill against the fading light.

I walked up the hill and peeked inside the cave. Satou was curled up on her bed, muttering something about the letter N. I continued walking up the hill until I reached the Figy tree, where Hane was sleeping soundly on a branch.

I reached up to grab a berry with my vine. I quietly detached it from the branch so that I wouldn't disturb Hane. I ate it quickly, still disliking the spiciness, then headed back to the cave. I lay down on my bed, closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

-End of Chapter 6-

* * *

**A/N: Wow, I finished this in only two days? The world is coming to an end. :l**

**Sorry if the end seems rushed, I wanted to make up for all the lost time.**

**YAY CAFEMOCHA DA SMEXY LOPPUNY**

**Hane turned down Garnet? O.O BUT DEY WAS A PARFICT MATCH! WAIIII**

**Hope, Hane, Garnet, Arkide, Gander, Getsue, Margarine, and Fogspin all belong to me, Esper12.**

**Satou and CaféMocha belong to NewYearJirachi.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	7. Bad Tea

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 7: Bad Tea

* * *

Satous POV

I woke up with bright sunlight shining in my eyes. Blinking, I looked over to Hopes bed to see that it was empty. She must've already gotten up. I stood up, stretched, and padded outside.

"Hey! Satou, up here!" I heard Hope shout. I looked to the top of the hill to see Hope and Hane eating Figy berries. I joined them, and started chewing on a berry that Hane tossed to me.

"'Morning, Satou," Hane mumbled through his mouthful of Figy. I nodded as I munched on my breakfast. Hope was merely nibbling at her berry, looking slightly repulsed.

"Indeed. The sky is as clear as a crystal," I replied softly, gazing at the nature that surrounded us. Particularly at the stretch of land that could be seen on the southern horizon. I felt slightly homesick, but there was no turning back now.

"Nothing better to wake you up in the morning than a good spicy kick!" Hane told Hope encouragingly. Hope still looked uneasy. "…Hey, if it makes you feel better, I could make it into tea. Just like coffee!"

Hope shrugged. "…Sure…" she mumbled in reply.

I finished my Figy berry and followed the rest of the squad back into the cave, Hane gripping Hopes berry in a talon. He searched his battered red chest for half a minute, then pulled out a steel teakettle and three mugs, placing one back in the chest when I told him I didn't want any.

Hane wandered down to the stream at the foot of the hill, filling up the kettle to the brim with chilly water. I arched an eyebrow at him. "Isn't tea supposed to be… you know… _hot_?" I asked him, wondering where he could get a heat source from.

Hane smirked as he strode back up the hill and into the cave, me following along behind him. He set the kettle on the dirt floor. Searching in his chest again, he pulled out a contraption that looked bizarrely like a stovetop.

"Mind lighting this for me?" Hane queried as he ground the Figy berry into a fine dust and carefully tipped it into the teakettle, which he had previously placed on the stove (?).

I stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine by me," I replied as I blew Embers into the contraption, lighting the sticks inside it on fire. The flames reached up and tickled the kettle.

Hane plopped himself down beside the kettle, eyeing it carefully. I followed suit, sitting beside Hane. I glanced around the cave, bored.

Hope was sitting to one side, I-mech in place, staring intently at the screen while poking at the ground with a foreleg, bracelet clipped around it. I assumed she was searching for another mission. She caught me looking at her, so I resumed looking around the cave.

My eyes fell on a gruesome sight. The sharp object Hane had pulled out of Hopes cut was still lying on the floor, surrounded by a small, dried up pool of blood. I grimaced and padded over to it.

I stared at it, sniffed it, and poked it a few times.

"Hey, Hane?"

"Mmm?"

"Can I borrow a cup or something?"

"Sure…?"

I grabbed a mug from Hanes red iron chest in my teeth, and sped down to the stream of water, nearly tripping over my paws. I hesitated, then dipped the mug into the stream, filling it to the brim with icy cold water. I winced as some liquid splashed onto my nose. I walked back up the hill, careful not to spill any more water.

Hope and Hane stared at me as I emptied the mug onto the bloody mess. Suddenly, I felt a presence beside me. It was Hope.

"You're not gonna try to clean that up by yourself, are you?" she asked. "You can't touch that water without doing damage to yourself, and besides, it's my mess."

Hope reached into the puddle with a vine and picked up the shard, placing it aside. She then dropped a dark blue cloth onto the puddle and squished it down so that it would suck up the water.

"Tea's done!" Hane announced joyfully, pouring the tea into the mugs. Hope picked up a mug with her vine and placed it in front of her. Hane pulled _yet another _something out of his chest (this time a box labelled 'Sugar'), opened it, and poured some sugar into his tea, stirring it with a teaspoon.

Hope followed his example and stirred sugar into her tea as well, then took a sip. Almost immediately, she choked and made a face, placing her mug on the ground with forced calm.

Hane gave her an odd look. "How is it?" he asked her.

"Just… peachy…" she choked out. Hane looked at her for a second, then resumed sipping his tea.

Hope whispered into my ear, "Does Hanes tea _always _taste horrible?"

"I'm pretty sure, it did two days ago as well. I decided not to take my chances this time," I hissed back.

Hope held her cup of tea to her mouth for a second, then chugged the cup down in one mouthful, making an I'm-just-going-to-get-this-over-with face. Hane stared at her again as he also finished off his tea.

* * *

Hopes POV

I turned on the I-mech again, and opened the squad mailbox to look at the job I had been looking at before drinking the awful tea. It had, unlike the Murkrow job, been mailed specifically to Snapdragon Squad in the hopes that we would accomplish it.

_Please help me!_

_I was walking in Ancient Forest last night, looking for berries, when suddenly a Misdreavus comes out and attacks me! I wasn't hurt _too _badly, but I got lost when I was running away… Help would really be appreciated! Tell you what – I'll even give you some of my special Seeds!_

_Basil the Deerling_

"I think we can do it," I said, flipping around the screen so that Satou and Hane could read it.

"So do I," Satou agreed. So did Hane.

Hane washed the mugs in the stream before we left. Satou and I checked the location of Ancient Forest on the map.

"Let's see…" I mused. "Ancient Forest is… about one and a half kilometres to the northwest from here. Whichever direction the northwest is."

"Well, the entrance to this cave faces to the west, so you just turn 45 degrees to your right as you leave it, and there's northwest," Hane replied as he entered the cave with the clean mugs, re-placing those, the now-empty teakettle, and the stove contraption into his iron box.

"Let's go find that Deerling!" I announced, rolling up the map.

Ancient Forest

"'Caution! This forest is a natural maze. Enter at your own risk.'" Hane read the sign attached to an oak tree aloud. "Well, I don't honestly care if this place is confusing or not. We've got a job to do; we can't be stopped by trivial nonsense."

Satou looked up at the tops of the trees overhead. "Only dangerous thing about this place I can see is the trees look about ready to fall over any second, they're so old," she speculated.

"Let's hope that when they do fall it'll be on the Misdreavus," I muttered darkly. "I've never seen the point of attacking some random person for no reason."

Hane adjusted the orange Power Band wrapped around his right shoulder. We had agreed he would wear it; after all, he had done so much for Satou and I. "And I've never seen the point of sitting around while we've got work to do. Let's go!" he said, starting off into the forest.

* * *

Misdreavus' POV

I watched as the squad made their way through Ancient Forest, assuming that they could rescue Basil. I laughed to myself at their stupidity.

"Now the fun begins," I whispered, and zoomed ahead to prepare some trickery.

Basil was still sitting in the clearing when I arrived there. It wasn't a surprise, seeing as how he was a complete coward. He stared up at me as I slowed to a stop.

"T-they won't be defeated that easily," the child told me, trembling slightly.

"Oh? You think so?" I asked him, giggling. "We'll see, Basil. We'll see."

-End of Chapter 7-

* * *

**A/N: 3 ½ pages of writing! Yay, I love being satisfied with my work. :D I was kind of slow starting this chapter, but I sped through it after the first few paragraphs. I love being done chapters quickly ^-^**

**I had a bit of a dilemma coming up with someone for a job request, until NewYearJirachi asked if I was taking requests. It was originally going to be Stamp the Stantler (fab name, I know) until Basil showed up. Speaking of Basil, I wasn't sure if he was male or female, so I… guessed… **

**Just to clarify, I **_**am **_**taking requests. So, if you want to, you can ask to put a Pokémon in my story. Just fill out this form in the comments or send me a PM.**

**Name: **

**Species: **

**Gender: **

**Moves: **

**Personality: **

**Team name: (optional) **

**Team members: (optional; fill out a form for each additional member)**

**Accessories/clothes: (optional)**

**Anything else:**

**Hanes tea is the worst thing that has ever happened in history. Other than L dying. That just sucked. :/**

**Hope, Hane, and the Misdreavus are all property of me, Esper12.**

**Satou and Basil are property of NewYearJirachi.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**

**1 600 words dB**


	8. Not as it Seems

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 8: Not as it Seems

* * *

Hanes POV

Our walk was, for the most part, uneventful. Satou filled the Rucksack with a variety of berries and seeds, along with some Gravelerocks and Sticks. We also defeated some rogue Pokémon who had apparently decided they were going to harass everyone they met.

"Hey, Satou." I turned around. Hope was the one speaking. "You seem to know a lot about these places we go on missions. What's this rock looking thing?" She was standing beside a life-sized, stone statue of a Kangaskhan.

Satou puffed up a bit at the statement before the question. "It's called, surprisingly enough, a Kangaskhan rock. There's a number on it, and if you enter that number on your Adventure Squad badge, then if you faint, you'll be warped back to the rock instead of your squad base," she told Hope. "And, for future reference, these 'places' are called Mystery Dungeons. They change every time you go in."

"I think we should enter in the number on this statue, then," I replied, approaching the rock and searching for the number.

I found it on the back of its right hand. The number was _379_. Satou pulled the badges out of the Rucksack. I took mine and flipped it over. The numbers 0-4 were written on the left wing, and 5-9 on the right. On the main part, my name, level, stats, and moves were written.

I typed in 379, and my badge glowed faintly for a moment, then dulled. Looking up, I saw that Hope and Satou had done the same. Hope and I passed our badges back to Satou, who tucked all three back into the Rucksack.

We continued on through the forest. The trees were slowly changing from oak to pine. Hope regularly questioned my sense of direction to the point where I yelled for her to 'Shut up before I tear off your leaf'. Needless to say, I was getting irritated. We had been walking for at least an hour, and there was no sign of a Deerling or a Misdreavus.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of hooves approaching, and halted, Satou and Hope following suit. The hooves belonged to a small green Deerling. He seemed surprised to see us, and skidded to a stop.

"Hi," he said in a small voice. "Are you Snapdragon Squad?"

"Yep," Satou replied. "Are you Basil?"

The Deerling nodded. "Uh-huh. Thanks for coming."

"No problem," Hope told him.

We were turning to leave when Satou yelped, "Hey! Give that back, you-!"

"'Me' what, exactly?" The Misdreavus asked, giggling to herself, dangling the Rucksack from her teeth. Half a second later, I realised that she was the one who had attacked Basil. My already-strong dislike of her grew.

Without warning, I launched myself at the Misdreavus. She darted to one side just as I whizzed through the air at her. I whipped around in midair, trying to stay aloft. It was maddening trying to stay aloft with no wind to aid you.

"Now, what do we have in here…?" the theif mused, shaking open the bag and peeking inside. "Aww, nothing but seeds and berries. Shame, really. Still, I heard an odd rumor-"

Hope lashed out with a vine and knocked the Rucksack out of Misdreavus' teeth. It fell to the ground and it was emptied of most of its contents.

"Are these rumors true?" Misdreavus giggled, floating to the ground and staring at the back of a squad badge. "Oooh, the Chikoritas name is actually Hope, not Leafbud? That's cute. But Hope is a name for humans, so if you were trying to cover it up, then that must mean-"

I swooped into her, hitting her directly in the back of the head. Her amused face darkened into a scowl. "Stop messing with me, you stupid pigeon." Her purple hair flapped ominously as her eyes flashed purple.

Then she suddenly expelled a blue-black explosion of energy in all directions, which hit everything within 15 feet, including the Snapdragon Squad and Basil. I felt a wave of pain flow through me as I was knocked onto my tail feathers. Through the haze, I spied Misdreavus speeding away through the forest.

I sat on the ground for a few minutes, at a loss as to what to do. Satou was stuffing all our items back into the Rucksack, while Hope attempted to console a crying Basil.

I slowly climbed to my talons. "Let's go home. Satou, pass me my badge."

Satou handed me and Hope our badges. Basil placed a hoof on Hopes shoulder.

"On the count of three, let's all press our buttons." Hope said.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

_Click!_

* * *

Misdreavus' POV

"Idiot!"

I dodged a rock thrown by the furious Seviper, who was reaching for another stone with his red tipped tail.

"You were supposed to catch the human, not tease them!" he snarled, hurling another rock at me, which I let hit me because if I dodged it would only make him angrier. It stung my cheek.

"I-I'm sorry, Master Hazard. I'll do better next time," I stuttered.

"You had better," he hissed, voice laced with venom. "Or else there won't ever be a next time. Now, go fetch Fogspin. I need to chew him out as well for getting caught."

"Yes, sir," I said quickly, speeding off eastward.

I tried fighting off the drowsiness as best as I could. The sun had just slipped below the horizon, and I had had a long day, kidnapping a kid, mugging Vulpi, and getting beaten by Pidgeots. Plus, I had to stay awake all night watching Basil.

I enjoyed doing these things (after all, 'Misdreavus' is a screwed up version of 'mischievous'), but Hazard, with his obnoxious temper, took most of the fun out of it. He made it sound as if it was essential to succeed in everything we ever did. Baka.

I arrived at the PASF. Time for action. I floated down to the eastern stone wall, being careful to not be seen by any guards. I braced myself, then passed through the wall. I was now in the dungeons. I searched the cocoons, reading the labels. I paused at the one in a corner of the second room from the stairs.

_Name: Fogspin_

_Species: Murkrow_

_Crime: Mugging a Tranquill_

Bingo.

I drew in the shadows with my mouth, forming a hazy sphere. I shot the Shadow Ball at the cocoon, which dissolved into a vapor with a hiss.

Fogspin hopped out, shaking his feathers. He grinned at me, then mouthed a _thank you_, not wanting to be heard by the guard at the bottom of the stairs.

I closed my eyes, trying to figure out how the _heck _we were going to escape. Fogspin couldn't fly through walls, and the guard wasn't exactly weak if he was employed as a guard. Something clicked in my brain, and I opened my eyes, which glowed purple. I opened my mouth and fired a Psybeam at the stone wall.

The wall crumbled with a crash, leaving a nice sized hole where it had been. An alarm sounded, and my heart sped up with excitement. I loved chases.

* * *

Hopes POV

I finished off my tea (this time made by Satou) and set my mug on the dirt floor of the cave. Hane was disgruntled when Satou told him that 'no offense, but we don't like your tea', and he was still sulking as he grudgingly admitted to Satou that she made far greater Bubble tea than he ever would.

"In my opinion, they shouldn't be compared," I muttered to Satou, who snorted and earned an odd look from Hane.

I washed the mugs in the stream, then returned them to the iron chest. Satou was sitting on her bed of straw, while Hane groomed his feathers by the small fire in the center of the room. I cleared my throat loudly. They looked at me quizzically.

"You know that mission?" I began. "It was a trap. Basil told me."

Hane frowned. "Could you please repeat that?"

"The Misdreavus – Misty – used Basil to lure us out into the forest," I explained. "They decided to capture a certain human-turned-Pokémon. Apparently they thought they'd get something out of it."

"That's just retarded," Hane muttered, making a face.

"Yeah, I know. What Pokémon with any sense would name their kid Misty?" Satou joked.

Hane sighed. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"You have no sense of humor, Hane," Satou muttered.

I mentally laughed at the whole situation. Like Hane said, it was ridiculous. Pointless, even. I have no memories; therefore trying to get information was wasted effort. Torture? Hell no. I could take whatever they would throw at me. Or just escape, that'd work too. And Hane and Satou aren't exactly going to sit idly by, watching me get kidnapped. I'm not really a kid, and I don't nap.

"Anyway, I'm going to bed," Hane yawned, walking out the door. "G'night, chillins."

Satou stomped out the fire, leaving the cave in darkness. I lay down on my bed, but I wasn't that tired. About ten minutes later, I heard Satou snoring softly.

It was a long time before I fell asleep.

-End of Chapter 8-

* * *

**A/N: Yay! I'm really truckin' with these chappez! I'm happy with my motivation! I'mma be a tea drinker when I grow up! Tea is SPECTACULAR! Never, ever, compare Hanes tea with bubble tea. QUOTE HAS A REAL**** POLARSTAR! I think that tea I drank earlier had caffeine in it… eheheheheheheheheheheheheheh eheheheheheheheheheheheheheh eheheheheheheheh Anywhooo…**

**I FEEL FABULOUS**

**Misty is my Misdreavus. Caught her in Eterna Forest, started calling her Misty, nicknamed her Misty, and swept the E4 and Lance with her on my HeartGold. SHE IS TOTS MY VINTAGE**

**I wasn't even planning this when I was writing chapters 5 and 6. Legit. Just popped into my head a few minutes ago.**

**Hope, Hane, Misty, Fogspin, and Hazard are all property of me, Esper12.**

**Satou and Basil are property of NewYearJirachi.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	9. Dark Light

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 9: Dark Light

* * *

Satous POV

I woke up more refreshed than usual the next morning. Looking over at Hope, I saw that she was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with a green, clawed foot.

"'Mornin'," she yawned, climbing to her feet and walking out the door.

I followed her to the top of the grassy hill, where Hane was still snoring loudly on his perch, even though the sun was long up.

Hope called up to him. "Hello, Hane." When she received no response, she shouted, "Wake up!"

Yet Hane still snored on, unaware of anything except his dreams. Hope poked him with a vine ("Haaaaneeee?"), but to no avail. Hope finally snapped and pushed him out of the tree. Hane landed on the ground with a thump.

I raced over to him to check if he was okay, giving Hope a frustrated frown. Hane seemed unharmed. He was silent, until he gave a massive yawn and rose to his talons, eyes still closed.

"Are you all right, Hane?" I asked him.

His eyes opened slowly, and I nearly bolted from shock. _Holy shoot holy shoot holy shoot!_

Instead of a deep brown, like they normally were, they were a fiery crimson. Hanes now red eyes slowly focused on me.

"H-hane?" I asked fearfully, taking a step back. _This isn't Hane. Who is this? _ Suddenly, he swung a wing at me, which caught me in the face. I was knocked halfway down the hill from the force of the blow.

"Hane…" I whispered.

I felt a chill surround me, and I looked down. I was covered in an ocean blue flame. It was rather beautiful, actually. Strangely enough, I wasn't even remotely startled by this. My eyes stared up at Hane, and also were full to the brim with a cold flame. Metaphorically, of course.

_Stand down. Let me handle this._

…_What? Last time I checked, I was the only one inhabiting this body._

_FYI: You're not._

Hope was attempting to immobilize Hane with snapping, forest green vines. Hane dodged with the grace and skill of a dancer (surprising for his size and species), latched onto one of the vines, and hurled Hope down the hill. She bounced down to the bottom and didn't get up.

I felt my feet charging up the hill at Hane, running regardless of whether I wanted them to or not. I tackled him in the stomach, knocking him over. The flames spread, covering Hane as well. He shrieked in agony.

_What are you doing?!_

_I'm doing my job._

_What, setting fire to people? Who are you, anyway?_

_Later. I've got work to do. See you in a bit._

The fire faded from my fur, and I jumped off of Hane, again in control of my limbs. I stared at Hane in horror as he writhed on the ground, feathers aflame, screeching bloody hell as his eyes glared scarlet.

Eventually, though, he calmed down, and lay motionless on the grass. The red faded from his eyes, and faded to brown before closing.

The blue flames left his feathers and danced for a moment in midair before sinking back into my fur. It faded into nothing after that.

_That was fun._

_What are you talking about? Why did you kill him?_

_I purify souls for a living. Those red eyes? They're a sign that the Pokémon has been possessed by something evil. But Hane was resisting quite strongly to it._

_Ooookayyy…?_

_Don't worry, your friend isn't dead. Look, Hane's waking up now._

Suddenly, Hane glowed a purply-black colour, and his body shrank. When the light faded, in the place of the Pidgeot we know and love was a small Zorua. The Z shaped scar on his cheek was much more pronounced. He slowly opened his eyes, now an electric blue, and sat up.

"Oh, crap," he muttered in a much higher voice than usual, looking at his blue-black tail.

Hope approached him slowly. "Hane…?"

He looked at her. "I suppose you could call me that. Let's go back inside, shall we?" he suggested.

We followed Hane (?) into the cave inside Joy Hill, where he sat down in front of the left-ish wall. Hope and I sat down in front of him.

Apparently Hope thought a blunt approach was best. "Explain, please. Why're you disguised as a Pidgeot?" she asked.

Hane sighed. "I was just about to. I was hiding as a Pidgeot because I'm being hunted."

I blinked. That wasn't the answer I had been expecting. "By who?" I asked.

"…The PASF. I'm wanted," he replied, ears drooping. "But I didn't do anything bad. I tried to talk to Arkide, but he wouldn't listen."

Hopes leaf twitched. "What were you convicted of?" she asked.

Hane stared at her for a long time; so long I thought he might not answer. "Murder," he finally replied. "The murder of my parents."

No one said anything for a long time. I tried to digest what was happening. Hane was an outlaw Zorua? He didn't _seem _bad, but there _was_ the possibility that he was just a good actor…

Hane broke the silence. "There's something you should know," he said. "My name isn't Hane. It's Shade. And I'm a female."

My eyes widened. "Whoa…" That _was the reason his voice was so high…_

Hope glared at Shade. "Why should we trust you? For all we know, you could be lying about your innocence. Or worse, you're not even Hane at all."

Shade sighed. "Apparently my tea shouldn't even be compared to Satous bubble tea," she replied.

I grinned. "Only the three of us know that, Hope. That's Hane," I told the Chikorita. "Besides, you know Shade isn't a bad Pokémon. If she _were _a murderer, we'd be dead already."

"Comforting…" Hope muttered.

"Thanks, Satou," Shade said. "I've been hiding as a Pidgeot for about two years now."

I paused, not knowing if I'd hurt a sore spot by asking. "Do you know who _did _commit that crime?" I asked her.

"Yeah. My older sister, Indigo," she replied, ears drooping again. "She was jealous of all the attention I got, and eventually it corrupted her. She killed our parents and set fire to our home. I barely escaped with my life."

"Sheesh, that's a bit extreme," Hope said, frowning.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Spite doesn't solve anything."

We sat there for a while longer, all at a loss as to what to say. Hope picked up the shard of glass that had been embedded in her forehead and studied it carefully, frowning in concentration.

Suddenly- "Hey, Satou." I looked at Shade. "Can I have a mug of tea?" she asked.

"Sure," I said, hauling out the tea kettle. In a few minutes, the bubble tea was well on its way to being ready.

"I was wondering… What was your life like on Ishara island, Satou?" Hope inquired.

I thought for a moment. "Apparently I was an orphan, although I definitely remember having parents. My mom's name was Violin, and my dad's name was Ember," I explained. "No one knew who they were, and when I checked the official records, they weren't there. I only lived on that island for about a month, but I don't remember anything before that."

* * *

Mistys POV

I soared toward the hideout, shrieking with glee. I had the most devious plan I had had since that prank involving Sooty-Sensei, a bowl of banana pudding, an ice cube, and lots of tape*. I once again thanked Arceus for being born a ghost. I was drained of energy, true, but I had enough information to get revenge on that Zorua outlaw who had attacked me and her comrades, which gave me enough energy to soar back to the hideout in ten minutes flat.

I flew through the wall of the cave. Hazard glared up at me. Fogspin also eyed me from his poition on the floor, but there was no malice in his stare, only curiosity.

"What have you found out?" Hazard inquired loudly.

"The Pidgeot is an outlaw Zorua named Shade," I giggled. "We can get rid of her if we tell the Federation who Hane really is."

Hazard smirked evilly. "Excccellent," he answered. "I'll go tell them, sssince you two are alssso wanted, and we'll have that human by nightfall."

-End of Chapter 9-

* * *

***= Use your imagination with this. :P**

**A/N: Holy shoot… why didn't I post this earlier? I finished it the first week of September… T_T**

**YAY CAKE**

**Pretty much a filler chapter… oh well.**

**Hope, Shade, Hazard, Misty, and Fogspin all belong to me, Esper12.**

**Satou belongs to NewYearJirachi.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	10. Run

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 10: Run

Hopes POV

I sipped my tea casually in the cave of Joy Hill. It was still odd to think of Hane as a Zorua, seeing as how she had always been 'Big feathery pigeon', not 'Diminutive furry kitsune'. The Pokémon in question was chugging her tea as she slumped against the wall. She had transformed back into a Pidgeot after our little talk.

"It isn't so much that I'm nervous of being back in Zorua form with people around," Shade had explained. "but I'm just so used to being a Pidgeot that my Zorua form feels… awkward, for lack of a better word."

Suddenly, I heard the sound of many running feet approaching the cave entrance. Their pace was apparently nothing to sneeze at. I peeked out the door, and my jaw nearly got an introduction to the floor as my mouth fell open, exposing even my molars.

There were about two dozen Pokémon striding up the hill toward me. Each and every one had a pair of glowing red eyes instead of the natural colours of their species. It was quite unsettling. It reminded me of how Shades eyes had been the exact same hue merely an hour ago.

I ducked back inside the cave. Shade and Satou frowned slightly, asking an unspoken question. "There's a mob of Pokémon coming up the hill!" I announced, horrified. Shade and Satou also glanced out the door and saw the mob.

"Red eyes…" I heard Satou mutter to herself.

The one leading the mob was a Seviper with a nasty scar running down his face from his right temple to where his chest might be. "There she is! The outlaw, Shade, disguised as a Pidgeot!" he yelled to the throng behind him.

I heard Shade curse under her breath. "We can't fight a mob _that_ large…" she paused, thinking. "I have to go."

Satou and I both rounded on her, apparently thinking the same thing. "We'll come with you!" I muttered back.

She shook her head slightly. "No," she whispered "I'm the only one they want."

"IDIOT!" Satou hissed sharply. "Cut the heroics and let us come with you! We'll be brought in for harboring a wanted criminal anyway."

Shade paused for a moment, apparently deciding what she should do. "You win," she sighed. "Get on." She bent over and spread her wings slightly. I clambered onto her back, and Satou hopped on behind me. The illusion was convincingly solid, as per usual.

The horde was almost at the top of the hill. Shade took off swiftly, and the Pokémon stretched up and tried to bat her out of the air. They failed miserably, and the Seviper let out a string of curses inappropriate for this fic. **(ZOMG HOPE ALSO BROKED THE FOURTH WALL)**

"So, where should we go?" I asked Shade over the wind.

"I was planning on going to Pechigi island; that's why I didn't want you two coming," she replied.

It was my turn to curse. "Couldn't you have picked somewhere, I dunno, NOT SO FREAKING COLD?!"

"Well, _you _try thinking of a place to hide when there are more Pokémon than in a monster house after you!" Shade shot back.

Satou cut in. "Can we please save the arguing for when we're _not _trying to escape an impending massacre with us as the victims?"

We continued on for a while. No one said anything for long stretches of time; during which, I had plenty of time to wallow in misery. There wasn't much chance of anyone being convinced otherwise of Shade being a murderer, and seeing as we were 'accomplices', they probably wouldn't listen to us, either. The world I had so recently fashioned for myself felt like it was falling apart at the seams with no way to sew it back together.

We flew over the Glacier Strait and the Federation, which had a massive hole in a wall. It looked like it had been forcibly blown apart. All three pairs of eyes were drawn automatically to it as we flew past.

"What do you think happened there?" Satou asked.

"Looks like someone broke out," Shade responded. "It's in the prison part of the building…"

"Correct! Me!"

I turned to my left. Fogspin was flapping along beside us, accompanied by Misty. Both were grinning maliciously.

Satou blinked and stared at them for a while. "Um… did I miss something? Why're you two here?"

"We're here to capture _you_, of course," Misty laughed, nodding in my direction. "You already knew, so why'd you ask? You were talking about it yesterday, or did you already forget?"

"You were eavesdropping?" Shade queried, frowning.

"Yep!" Misty barrel rolled, giggling all the while. "I was hiding in the wall, to be precise!"

"Stupid hag," I muttered, turning to look at the sea we were quickly approaching. It had started to snow lightly, the flakes melting the instant they met my minty green skin. Raising my voice slightly, I asked, "Hey, Shade, can we pick up the pace? I'd prefer being a popsicle to being abducted by these imbeciles."

"Gladly," she replied, voice clipped.

Shade pumped her wings faster, quickly losing Misty and Fogspin behind. It had begun to snow harder, snow melting off slower and slower. Shades feathers were glinting with frost, and I swear I heard Satous teeth chattering at one point.

Eventually we glimpsed an island covered in snow on the horizon. At this point the snow was so thick that I could hardly tell it was there. I shivered, trying desperately to warm up. Satou blew ember after ember onto her paws and rubbed vigorously. Shade shook off her feathers every so often, attempting to rid them of frost.

"Our hideout's nice and toastyyyy!" Fogspin sang from behind us. Apparently he and Misty had caught up to us.

"I can make toast with my _own_ toaster, thank you very much!" I shouted back.

"We don't even _have _a toaster, Hope," Shade muttered to me. "We'd have to toast the bread over a fire."

I didn't answer, just made a face.

Shade dropped suddenly, like a rock in water. I clung on tightly, knowing that if I let go, there would be no chance of my survival. The cold wind stung my skin, as if wishing for my downfall. It clawed at my numb forelegs, trying to rip me free of the illusory feathers I was clinging desperately to. We were freefalling straight toward the island. I shut my eyes, wishing I were somewhere, _anywhere_ but here.

Shade pulled up suddenly, making my breath catch in my throat. I mentally facepalmed. Shade wouldn't start falling _that _easily. As far as I knew, Shade was skilled with her wings. Shade touched down in front of a small cave. The entrance was almost impassible, it was so covered in snow.

Satou and I clambered off of Shades back onto the frost. Shade shed her illusion, turning back into a Zorua. We squeezed through the opening and wandered a fair distance into the cave, or at least far enough that we lost sight of the entrance. Satou took off the Rucksack (yes, she was still wearing it) and lit up a pile of dead grass to make a small fire. I lay down beside it, exhausted. Satou and Shade followed my example and also collapsed by the fire. I fell asleep almost immediately.

9break0

I opened my eyes to see a burnt-out campfire almost on top of my nose. I scooted backwards a few centimetres, then stood up, noting that Shade and Satou were nowhere to be seen. I walked to the cave entrance. Satou was out cold on the ground, snoring softly.

I shook her shoulder gently. She opened a bleary set of brown eyes and muttered, "Don' agree wi' tha'… Huh?"

"Shade's gone," I told her. "Do you know where she went?"

Surprisingly, Satou actually understood that, seeing as how she wasn't even fully awake. "Oh…well, she…" Satou sighed. "She told me… not to tell you…"

My eyes narrowed, suspicious. "Why?"

By this time, Satou was fidgeting with a tail. "Because… you'd get mad at her and wouldn't agree with it…" she murmured.

I glared at her for a moment, then sighed. "Have it your way. At least tell me if she'll be back," I asked, not expecting an answer.

Her ears drooped. "It's not likely," she responded quietly, turning away. I sighed, then walked out into the now clear exterior of the cave.

I never saw the tears soaking into the ground.

-End of Chapter 10-

**A/N: Dun dun DUN… Shade, you had better not get yourself killed. That would be stupid. You still have things to do in pixelated life! Like sweep the E4! Don't die on me now! :O**

**Yay, milestone! I think I'll post the current stats for this story, just to… well, something about improving… or to commemorate the occasion? I dunno.**

**Views: 697 (holy shoot!)**

**Reviews: 17**

**Alerts: 8**

**Faves: 8**

**I seriously thought this fic was going to be ignored. *tears of joy* Yeah, it's not on the 'Top Ten Highest Number of Faves' or whatever list, but… :U**

**I JUST ATE CAKE. And talked about how the sun was made of explosions of atoms fusing. And stuff. Muffin buttons with a side of mintegers! Double rainbow! What does it mean?!**

**The new PMD is coming out in Japan?! Oooh, when it comes out in NA…? Ehehe… *evil smirk* Awesome with a side of epicness! :D**

**Hope, Shade, Hazard, Fogspin, and Misty all belong to me, Esper12.**

**Satou belongs to NewYearJirachi.**

**POKEMON IS NOT MINE. Notice how it's **_**fan**_**fiction. Le dharp.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	11. A Shadow of a Doubt

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 11: A Shadow of a Doubt

* * *

Satou's POV

"Are you going to tell me noooow?" Hope nagged for liek the seventh time that day.

I mentally sighed. I wasn't about to break this promise. I would lose Shade's trust forever, and nothing would be quite the same ever again. Also, Hope wasn't really an optimal person to tell this secret to. She'd freak. On the other hand, if I didn't tell anyone, Shade would probably get killed. …Hope couldn't fly, though, and neither could any of the other few Pokémon we'd seen on this frosty isle. Aaahh, what to do…

"I'm going to keep this promise to the grave if I have to," I finally replied. "And even if I did tell you, it wouldn't change the fact that you can't fly across the sea after her."

Hope did an impressive imitation of a puffer fish, but stayed silent. I let out a breath of relief, and concentrated on finding out where we were going to find berries. Maybe over this random hill…?

We trudged on for a while. Except for the occasional unruly Pokémon, this island was… really boring. There was hardly anything here except dead grass and snowflakes. We found a slightly wilted Nanab berry tree with a few berries still clinging to the branches, as if hoping to last the newly started winter. We ate them, of course. They were… edible enough.

Hope and I settled down for the night in a conveniently placed cave. We stayed near the entrance. I lit up a small fire of twigs and old leaves and lay down beside it, Hope following my lead. She dozed off first, snoring slightly. I lay silently for a while, counting the stars that the gently snowing clouds hadn't yet covered. Then I, too, fell asleep, dreaming of running through the stars and sliding down the crescent moon until daybreak.

* * *

Misty's POV

Fogspin and I flew silently through the snowy sky, with only the occasional ruffling of feathers and the splashing of waves below for sound. Fogspin carried in his talons a large drawstring sack for capturing a certain Chikorita. The night was chilly, and I wished for a nice burning tree to warm my slightly frosted body.

"Hurry up, Fogspin!" I hissed to my dawdling partner who was catching snowflakes on his tongue. He frowned slightly, but closed his beak and flapped harder, catching up to me.

We arrived at our destination about twenty minutes later. I descended down to the cave entrance, followed closely by Fogspin, and ducked in. I quickly spotted our target: Hope. She was sleeping beside adying campfire, along with Satou. Shade was nowhere in sight. I floated cautiously up to the pair of snoozers, then Hypnotized them, gesturing to Fogspin to come over.

He dragged the sack behind him as he walked toward Hope. He opened it and pushed Hope gently inside, as if fearing for her safety, then closed it and tied the strings in a knot for good measure. I bit a string, while Fogspin held onto the other with golden talons. We headed outside, then took to the sides with our cargo.

It must have looked pretty strange, two Pokémon soaring through the air with a bag suspended between them, one holding a string between its teeth, the other in its talons. Aaahh, well, there was no one to see us kidnapping a napping kid (jeez, that was bad) in the middle of the night anyway. Hope was pretty heavy. It felt like my fangs would fall out.

Fogspin and I arrived at the old shack we used as a hideout, plopping our package down in the middle of the room. I rolled my jaw around, trying to get rid of the feeling that my teeth were being ripped out. Hazard hissed with pleasure as he uncoiled himself and ventured out of his corner.

"Tie her up on the possst," he told us. I floated over to the moldy log I had set up in the corner earlier instead of helping Fogspin with Hope. No way was I carrying that lump again.

Fogspin pulled Hope out of the bag and sat her up against the wood. I looped the rope around Hope and the post, trying not to breathe in the stench of the rotting post. I gestured to Fogspin to tie the rope, since I couldn't tie it (blast!). He tightened the ends and tied them around each other.

We traipsed over to Hazard after we were finished with our work. Hazard grinned maliciously.

"Now we wait," he said gleefully.

* * *

It seemed like days later when Hope's eyes finally fluttered open. She looked about in fear, then seemed to figure out where she was, because she calmed down. She glared at all three of us, but mostly at Fogspin, who skittered backward slightly.

"So, you've finally woken up. Good," Hazard stated, uncurling his dark purple body and slithering over to the prisoner. "I was wondering if Misssty had done too well a job on you."

I inwardly rolled my eyes at his idiocy. Hypnosis didn't kill anyone, nor did it put them into comas. Just a very heavy sleep. Getting out of it would be like swimming in syrup. Only not as tasty.

"Can you guessss why you're here?" Hazard asked.

"Yes, I'm _able_," Hope retorted. "Ransom?"

I had to step in at that guess. "Seriously?" I snorted. "We have better things to do with our time. Try again."

"Ummm..." Hope stared at the ceiling, mouth hanging open slightly. "I got nothing. Why?"

"So we can interrogate you, of course," I purred. I was enjoying myself. This was the first real kidnapping we had done in a while.

Hazard glared slightly at me stealing his thunder. "Don't interrupt, Misty," he chastised. Turning back to Hope, he stated, "We would like to know how you got like that, human. Unless you would like to have us force it out of you." He hefted his sharp tail. I knew from experience it was poisoned.

Hope seemed to know that too, because she gulped. "I don't know. I have amnesia."

"Sssure about that?" Hazard nagged.

"Very sure," Hope told him.

"What a ssshame," he sighed. "I wasss going to kill you quickly and painlessssly after we were done, too. Now you've made it painful for yourssself." His blade nicked one of her hind legs. Hope hissed in pain, snatching her leg (which was now bleeding slowly) away from the jagged blade of poison.

"I have a question for you..." Hope rasped slightly. "Why is it necessary that you kill me? Can't I get out alive?" I had been wondering that too, and Fogspin and I turned to my leader for enlightenment. Apparently he had been wondering the same thing.

"Becaussse you're working with my sssworn enemy, of courssse," Hazard hissed.

Hope blinked in confusion. "Satou or Shade?"

"Not them, idiot," Hazard snapped, whipping his blade in agitation. It slashed across her right shoulder, and she yelped slightly. "I mean that ssstupid chicken."

"I don't know any... chickens..." Hope told him, gasping for air now that the poison had caught up to her. "I only... know Pokémon..."

Hazard rolled his eyes. "You don't underssstand insssultsss, do you?" he muttered. "Bet you don't underssstand jokesss, either."

Now, for some reason my mind was in overdrive this evening. Or maybe the evidence was too obvious. Whatever the case, I knew something was up with Hope. She'd responded to Fogspin with a rather amusing joke before; what happened to the comedic personality?

Then I remembered Shade's response to the joke. She didn't get comedy at all. Add to that that she was a Zorua, capable of creating illusions...

"That's not Hope," I stated. Hazard and Fogspin looked at me like I had **OVER 9000 **heads or something.

Hope (?) grinned weakly. "Heh... heh... nice job, Misty... But... can you catch me...?"

A black-violet light shone from Shade and enveloped her. I squinted at the bright light, and Fogspin and Hazard shielded their eyes. When the light faded, the ropes were on the ground, devoid of anything save the moldy old pole inside it.

Hazard shrieked in fury. "Find the Zorua!" he roared at us.

Fogspin and I raced out of the hideout, which was an old human shack, followed closely by Hazard. We searched out on the sandy desert for a while. But if we had stayed just a little longer, we might've heard a strangled cough come from inside the empty shack.

* * *

Shade's POV

I stared at the blood I had coughed up for a second, then dropped my illusions once the little band of idiots had disappeared from my sight. There was hardly a point with them occupied for a while, and the illusions were hard work, anyway. It was a bit advanced to do any kind of Pokémon illusion that looked realistic, and even more so for invisibility.

I bit at the rope, and gradually chewed through it, enduring the disgusting taste. The rope dropped to the dusty ground. I stumbled like a drunk out of the shack into the barren desert. The heat stung at my cuts and baked my fur. I wanted to create a nice illusion of white fur so I wouldn't be absorbing as much sun, but my energy was sapped. The only thing I could do was find someone, anyone.

"Hello?" I called weakly. "Anyone here? Help me... please..." I coughed up a few drops of blood.

I staggered on for a few minutes on the searing sand, then collapsed. My wounds were stinging like crazy. I was at the limit of my strength. I gasped for air desperately.

Despite Satou's vivid misgivings about the whole matter, I had assured her that I would come back safely, but I was about to break that promise with my death. I hated breaking promises. It was like losing someone's trust forever.

I amassed my quickly ebbing strength and cried, "HELP!" one last time. I tried to focus on hearing anything except my own strangled breathing. There was no one near to hear my yell, though.

I coughed up more blood. My vision was fading to a blur. I wondered dimly if the rest of my team were all right. I hoped they were. _I'm sorry...Satou... Hope... _I thought as I passed out.

* * *

-End of Chapter 11-

**A/N: My goodness. That was kinda fun to write. I think I'm a bit sadistic for hurting my Shadie-chan and liking it, though... I had that torture scene stuck in my head for liek a month before I wrote it down. And yes, this was the night before the start of the chapter. I did that to throw you off. *trollface* Also, this is about the climax of the first arc. There are two arcs, maybe three, to this story.**

**I lost the first part of this (don't ask) and I had to rewrite it. I was so darn irritated.**

**I got distracted in the middle of this and started reading a grade 10 chemistry textbook and listening to Blood by My Chemical Romance. Honestly, that song is the weirdest/funniest song ever.**

**Hopefully I can get Orabel and Alan into the next couple chapters.**

**Hope, Shade, Misty, Fogspin, and Hazard all belong to me, Esper12.**

**Satou belongs to NewYearJirachi.**

**I dunno, do I **_**look **_**like I own Pokemon? I don't, by the way. Just the plot. Which is getting SUPER HEATED UP**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	12. Separation

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 12: Separation

* * *

Hope's POV

"69 BOTTLES OF JUICE ON THE WALL, 69 BOTTLES OF JUICE! TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND-"

"SHUT IT!"

"-68 BOTTLES OF JUICE ON THE WALL! 68 BOTTLES OF JUICE ON THE WALL, 68 BOTTLES OF-"

"HOPE, I'M SERIOUS! SHUT UP!"

I wanted to go on, but at the rate she was going, Satou would explode – both figuratively_ and_ literally. She was already steaming away the icy water she had slipped and fallen into earlier with the orangey flames that apparently started on her fur when she was irritated. So I shut my mouth and stopped singing, though I did smirk annoyingly at her for a bit. I hadn't even tried to sing good anyway; I thought yowling away off-key and _waaaaay _too loudly would entertain me for a bit. Turned out it only ticked off Satou.

I sighed and flicked my stub of a tail in boredom, letting my head droop down to below my shoulders. I hardly thought trudging away through a labyrinth like Rhyme Caves was entertaining, since we had been in here for ages and still hadn't found our way out. Sure, it was kind of beautiful, like a sparkly combination of ice and crystal that was varying shades of blue (from teal to indigo), but it was SO CONFUSING! I actually suspected that Satou had gotten us lost _again_, since I swore I remembered seeing the rock we had just walked past before. There were hardly any Pokémon in here either; I couldn't blame them. My pessimistic mind told me that we would probably die of starvation in here, or else die of maybe exhaustion or even boredom.

My brain suddenly clicked with an idea. "I was singing so badly because I wanted someone to hear me and come to shut me up and then they'll show us how to get out of here." I grumbled at Satou, who rolled her chocolaty eyes and flicked an ear toward me.

"Uh-huh," she mumbled sarcastically. "You were just singing because you were bored."

Shoot. Was I that predictable? Maybe I was; I hadn't been able to tell. I harrumphed silently, resolving to be less predictable (was that even possible?) in the future.

Something seemed to be off with Satou, though. She tried to act like nothing was wrong, but maybe when Shade had left on her little solo expedition, it had affected Satou's peace of mind worse than I had realised. That's when I got to thinking: Was Shade's trip particularly dangerous? Most likely. If it wasn't, why would Satou be so worried? But if it was so perilous, why did Shade go alone? And why was I the only one who wasn't allowed to know? Was it because I wouldn't like it or something? I trudged along, trying to find plausible answers to each of these questions.

"Stop," Satou told me suddenly. I paused, wondering why...

The sound of a Pokémon racing quickly through the caves reached my ears. It was probably a medium-sized quadruped, judging by the sound of the paws, but until we saw them, I couldn't be sure. It grew louder and louder, and a Luxio eventually dashed around the corner in front of us, skidding to a stop with front paws frantically backpedalling while sitting on their hindquarters. A glance at the markings and a quick informational memory check revealed they were a male. He sat there, panting for a few seconds, and I noticed there was a golden scarf slung around his neck (Satou later told me it was an Energy scarf).

When he had caught his breath, he asked us, "Have you seen my friend, Misty? She's a-"

"Hold on." I stared at Satou in confusion, who was slowly advancing on the Luxio. "You're friends with that monster?" Her voice was low and menacing.

The Luxio was also puzzled, as he tilted his fuzzy blue head to one side. "I wouldn't go so far as to call her a monster, but yeah. Where'd she go?"

"So, she's in here as well?" Satou stopped inches from his face, the Luxio having leaned back quite a bit to get away from her.

"...Yeah...?" he replied, frowning slightly.

"What. Did. You. Do. With. Her?" Satou growled.

"...Misty?" The Luxio was completely bewildered now, poor dude.

"You know who I mean!" Satou shrieked suddenly, vanishing in a puff of black smoke. The Luxio looked around nervously, trying to figure out where she would reappear from. I cleared my throat loudly, and stared purposefully at the spot of air above his head. He looked up just as Satou tried to use a Faint Attack on him from above, and dodged out of the way as she fully resurfaced from the shadows and landed on the rocky floor.

Satou wasted no time in firing a bunch of Embers at him, which peppered the ground behind the Luxio as he bolted away from them. She aimed at the space in front of him and fired another round of Embers, which he couldn't stop fast enough to dodge and skidded through them, burning his ankles.

He growled in pain then leapt into the air and let loose a Thunderbolt at Satou, who almost succeeded at dodging. Note the word 'almost'. It connected with one of her tails, and spread throughout her body, making her shriek in pain. Satou dropped to the ground, smoking slightly.

She climbed shakily to her paws, then lunged weakly at the Luxio, who easily sidestepped. His fangs then shone a light blue, and he bit Satou with Fangs of Ice on her right forepaw, which she had been trying to injure him with.

She disappeared in a cloud of darkness again, and the Luxio perked up his ears, listening for Satou. It was longer than usual when she finally re-emerged from below, attacking the Luxio with presumably all of her strength. He hadn't been expecting that angle of approach, so she hit him with a direct attack in the stomach. He leapt away, wincing in pain.

His fangs glowed red as he charged at her and chomped on one of her tails. But the ability of Vulpi was Flash Fire, which absorbed the power of Fire-type moves and made their own Fire attacks stronger.

Satou merely grinned and shook the Luxio away, then surrounded herself with purple flames tinged with white and fired a ball of Will-o-Wisp flames at him. He dodged swiftly and started charging up another Thunderbolt, cheeks sparking with electricity.

"STOP!" I yelled, catching them both by surprise. The Luxio stopped charging energy and looked at me, while Satou just collapsed, panting. I wrapped Satou up in my vines and set her gently on my back, trying not to let her tip over. I shot a questioning look at the Luxio, who merely shrugged. He didn't _seem_ like he was evil, so why did Satou...?

I heard another set of paws, these ones scampering quickly, approach from where we had come from. A Buizel skittered around the corner, nearly slamming into the wall, and slid to a stop in front of the Luxio. She was sporting a dark, sleeveless jacket with five black diamonds forming an X on the front, and from what I could tell there existed a dark heart on the back as well. She looked from the Luxio to the burns on his feet to Satou, who was extremely battered from the fight.

"What happened here?" she asked quizzically.

"I don't even know," The Luxio answered between licks to one of his forelegs, which was burned more severely than the others.

"Hey, is your name, by any chance, Misty?" I asked the Buizel. "'Cause this guy asked about a Misty and Satou almost asploded."

"Uh, yeah," she answered, glancing at the Luxio with an unreadable expression. "That's a weird reaction."

"Not so weird from my point of view, but still more extreme than I expected," I replied calmly. "What's your name, Luxio?"

"It's A- uh, Shadowbolt," he mumbled as Misty stared at him pointedly. She seemed to be giving him a lot of weird looks...

"You two need a way out of here?" Misty asked me.

"Sure, please," I answered happily. Looks like we weren't going to rot away in this blasted maze after all! "I'm Leafbud, and this is Satou."

She pulled a brown, folded up piece of parchment out of her pocket and unfolded it. She walked down the passage ahead and Shadowbolt and I followed suit. I peeked over Misty's shoulder and saw the parchment had a map of Rhyme Caves drawn onto it. Rhyme Caves wasn't as confusing as I had thought it was, though it did have a lot of twists and turns.

I turned and grinned at Satou, whose head was slumped over my right shoulder. "Another score for your navigating skills, methinks," I snickered slightly. Satou growled slightly and rolled off my back onto the ground, stopping smoothly on her paws, and started padding along the tunnel.

I recalled Satou's accusation earlier, of Shadowbolt 'Doing. Something. With. Her'. Was 'her'... Shade? And if she'd accused a supposed friend of the Misdreavus of that, then. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Had she legit gone to confront them?! That was either extremely brave or extremely reckless... I hoped she had known what she was doing...

* * *

We followed Misty to the mouth of the cave. Outside, I could see the sun setting, dyeing the clouds bright, fiery hues. Another day spent on this icy wasteland, it seemed like. I felt a slight ache in my chest for Shade. Where was she? Was she safe? And would she come back?

"Hey, Hope..." I looked at Satou, who was sitting dejectedly beside the wall. "We should stay here for the night."

I nodded in agreement. "You guys want to stay with us?" I inquired of Misty and Shadowbolt. They, however, were staring at me like I had a large number of brightly coloured heads.

"Are you... a human?" Misty finally asked.

Wow, so there _was _a difference between human and Pokémon names! For some reason I thought Shade had just convinced Satou to help her feed me a load of crap so she could give me an alias. Heh.

"Congrats, Mis, you won the prize!" I answered with fake cheeriness. "The prize of... NOTHING! Isn't that wonderful?!"

"...Excuse us for a sec." Misty dragged Shadowbolt out of the cave by his tail, to which he loudly protested. A hastily whispered conversation ensued outside, one which I caught no words of. _What will they do? _I thought anxiously. _I hope they don't tell anyone... that would be weird, random people knowing this isn't my original form..._

They ventured back inside the cave wearing strained expressions and sat on the rocky floor. Shadowbolt cleared his throat.

"My name's Alan," he finally announced.

I blinked. My first thought was, _So Misty's obsessed with fake names, too? She and Shade should get together sometime. _There were other humans? I thought I was the only one, except for maybe Satou. What if he still had all of his memories? Maybe he knew how he was turned into a Pokémon. Even better, maybe he knew how to go back to being a human!

But... what if he didn't? What if he was an amnesiac as well? He probably was, knowing my luck. Was being a Pokémon so bad, though? I had Satou and Shade, and we had fun adventures together. I couldn't fully appreciate any humans until I had my memories back, anyway, which I didn't know how to achieve.

"Misty's a human, too." I was broken out of my reverie by Alan's voice. I looked at Misty, who waved akwardly.

They were _both_ humans? Misty didn't seem like a human name.

"So, we were thinking..." Misty started.

_That's a surprise, _I joked.

"Do you know how to transform back into a human?" Misty inquired, leaning forward slightly.

My face fell, becoming slightly depressed. "I was about to ask you two the same thing," I responded unhappily. Their expressions darkened to match mine.

"Well, what _can_ you remember? Maybe we can figure it out from there," Alan queried hopefully.

"Nothing significant," I muttered. "My name and species. I'm guessing you two are the same?"

"Not... exactly," Misty said in return. "We can remember _some_ things, like, I remember my whole family. My father was an archaeologist. He brought my vest and Alan's scarf home from a trip somewhere. We were sitting in his living room, investigating them, when there was this sudden burst of light. Next thing I knew we were dropped from the sky into Magma Town on Ishara island with these." She fingered her dark jacket.

"Misty's my cousin," Alan added. "I could only remember mine and Misty's names, as well as, for some reason, my eighth birthday party. Someone pulled a prank involving banana pudding on me. * We both lived in a place called Kanto. I was 13 and she was 15 when we were dumped into Magma Town. It's been 10 months since then, meaning we are now 14 and 16."

"Hold on," Satou interrupted. "Pokémon ages work differently than human ages. We mature twice as fast, but we have half the lifespan. You'd be 7 and Misty 8 as Pokémon. Your levels, however, can be from double to triple your age, depending on how much you train. Anyway, how was the birthday party?" I guess she was feeling better.

"Um, it was pretty good. The cake was made of ice cream," he replied, apparently caught off-guard by the sudden lesson and random question.

"Hold it, Satou. I know that's not a human name, but... were _you _a human too?" I inquired of her.

Satou shook her head. "Nope. Remember, the names of my parents were Ember and Violin. What human in their right mind would name their kid Violin?"

"You have a point," I admitted. "Still, you showed up on Ishara with no memory, too. I can't help but think there's a reason we're here."

I neglected to tell them about the red Chikorita made of mist I had seen in my sleep. She had said I had a mission to find the 'Dawn Jewel', whatever that was. If I ever saw her again, I would ask her to elaborate.

"We should sleep now..." Misty muttered while looking out the entrance at the now dark sky. "Storytelling won't help us much at this point."

Satou lit up a pile of dead leaves on the ground. She then pulled out a bunch of Aspear berries and shared them amongst our small group.

As I chewed on my Aspear berry, I resolved to search my dreams thoroughly for the red Chikorita. I hoped she would give me some answers and not be so cryptic.

* * *

Shade's POV

My head felt like it had been chopped to bits, then stitched back together by an amateur. My shoulder and leg felt like they were being toasted with a campfire. There lingered an odd smell in the air, like Satou's tea, only it smelled more like fruit than Taro root. Was this what Arceus' realm smelled like? If so, she had nice taste. Or a nice sense of smell, choose your pick.

There was a soft, wide strip of fabric wrapped around my neck, like a scarf. It had the smell of a Pecha berry. A Pecha scarf, maybe? Maybe they were trying to get rid of the poison. But... if I was dead, why would I still be poisoned?

Slowly, I eased my eyes open. The first thing I noticed was an Emolga stirring a pot full of a nice smelling stew. It was a sandy burrow we were in, but it was roughly the same size as the cave inside Joy Hill. I looked down at my neck and noticed that it was a light pink scarf trimmed with a vibrant green, which meant that it was indeed a Pecha scarf. There was also a bandage wrapped around my right shoulder. I was apparently lying on a bed of hay.

"Hi." The Emolga had stopped stirring the stew and was looking at me with an interested look in his eyes. "My name's Wires."

"I'm Shade," I replied hoarsely. A sudden thought sprung to my mind. "How long was I out for?"

"Well, I found you yesterday before lunch," Wires mused. "You were passed out in a puddle of blood, I took you back here."

I sighed in relief. "That's good." _Hopefully Satou won't be freaking out _too _badly..._

He pulled out a tin bowl and filled it full of the nice smelling stew, then handed it to me along with another spoon. It looked like it was made entirely of berries and berry juice. I picked up a piece of berry with my spoon and nommed on it. I think it was an Oran berry.

"There are Oran berries for healing and Pecha berries for the poison in there, by the way," Wires told me as I munched on my Oran berry. It was, legit, probably the best thing I had ever eaten. Had this Emolga taken lessons from a master or something?

I think I finished the stew in record time, it was so good. My shoulder and leg didn't feel like they were filled with fire anymore, and my head no longer felt like it had had a dozen knives put through it. I snuggled back into the bed as Wires pulled off the bandages to reveal that the poisonous cuts were history (well, almost).

"Hey, can I have that scarf back?" he inquired politely. I untied it and handed it over. He retied it around his own neck, sighing softly.

Wires then turned to me with seriousness clear in his eyes. "What happened there, anyway?"

My face took on a worried expression. "Well..." I began to tell the story.

-End of Chapter 12-

* * *

*** That banana pudding thing is gonna be like a meme for me from now on. :P**

**A/N: Happy New Year and stuff, everypony! ...and Merry Christmas... I got White 2! And, liek, 250-ish Pokémon cards. And a bunch of Pokémon stuffies. And I resolved to finish this fanfic by the end of the year, at most. Yaaaay.**

**Well, that was fun. Satou goes crazy, there are more humans, and my li'l Shadie-chan isn't dead! *mentally hugs Shade* I love my li'l Shade~**

**I hope everyone enjoys this extra-long chapter… 3000+ WORDS ASDFGH **

**PMD: GTI comes out March 23! SO EXCITED ERMAGERD**

**Huge news for Pokemon coming TOMORROW! I can't wait lkjhgfdsa**

**Hope, Shade, and Wires are owned by me, Esper****12****13**** (yes, I am now Esper13.)**

**Satou is owned by NewYearJirachi (srsly, where'd ya go?)**

**Alan and Misty are owned by allen5.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	13. Unanswered Questions

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 13: Unanswered Questions

**Note: This chappie is gonna be, liek, super long. **

* * *

Hope's POV

My eyes flew open and flitted around. I saw glowing lights of all the colours of the rainbow dancing in front of me like chemically altered fireflies. Disembodied voices floated around me, talking with each other. I was in the dream again; that was good. I began to search through the orbs of colour for the one who could answer my questions. I noticed as I gazed at them that they were Pokémon, all made of light, chatting with each other. That would probably make things easier.

I scanned through the crowd for a while. Was she there? I began to lose belief that she was after some time, seeing so many faces besides hers. Then, I saw the face I wished to see conversing casually with a blue Buizel.

"Yo, Chikorita! Come down here for a sec!" The voices faltered and grew quiet, and the Pokémon owning them looked from me to the Chikorita, probably wondering what the pancakes I was doing there.

The Chikorita sighed and gestured with her head that I should join her. But... she was quite a bit above me... How was I to get up there? Then I remembered that in dreams, quite a lot of things were more possible than in the waking world.

I jumped, and flailed around 'till I got to the Chikorita. I heard giggles rise up from the Pokémon I passed, and I glared at them. Landing on the fictional ground, I gave a dirty look to the Chikorita, who looked like she was trying not to laugh.

"What was that?" I groused at her.

She finally let out a snort of mirth. "That was me trying to embarrass you in front of everyone," she chortled. "Judging by the expression on your face, I think it worked."

I snapped my head away and stared at an odd pattern of green lines on the edge of the dream, my face probably turning a bright shade of scarlet. When I got over my humiliation, I asked her, "What's your name?"

Her giggles had subsided by this time. "You can call me Esper," she replied softly.

_Esper...? Interesting name, I must say, _I mused silently.

"So, Esper," I began. "Since you were being oh-so-cryptic the last time we met, I still have a few questions to ask."

The Buizel cleared her throat loudly. "Remember the rules, Esp," she reminded her seriously, then swam away through the air into the mass of Pokémon around us.

"So, first off," I started. "What is this 'Jewel' you spoke of?"

Esper frowned in a contemplative way. "It's important to the Guild, I know that much. And before you ask, the Guild is strictly confidential," she added. I must be an open book; that's the second time someone's figured me out in the same day. Flip this... "It amplifies power in our branch of the Guild, which is useful. It's been lost for a while, over a thousand years I think, because no one was able to search for it, since we all had a lot of work to do."

"What does it look like?" I inquired, curious.

"Well, you remember what Sun Stones look like, right?" I nodded. "Well, it looks like that, only it's a transparent red jewel. It's about as big as a Sun Stone, too."

"What do I do with it when I find it?"

Esper shrugged. "Await further instructions, I suppose. Never really asked about that yet," she said thoughtfully.

Something clicked in my head. "Hold on," I growled, an icy undertone in my voice. "You asked specifically if I _remembered_ what Sun Stones looked like. If I'm not overthinking this, then... you know about my memories? Are my memories and this 'Guild' connected? If so... Are you the ones who took away my memories?!"

There was a lull in the chatter as a few turned to stare at me. A brown Krookodile snorted. "Perceptive, isn't she? Have fun, Esp," he TROLOLOLed.

Esper threw him a cold glare. "Shut up, Clumsy," she shot back.

"I take that back, anyone could've figured that one out, even the dumbest of Magikarp," he taunted. "It was just you during one of your 'genius moments', wasn't it?"

One of Esper's eyes twitched. A line had apparently been crossed. She marched up to Clumsy (?) and promptly smashed him in the face with a vine.

Ouch.

Clumsy staggered backwards, pressing a clawed hand to his cheek. He growled and coated a claw with a Night Slash, dashing toward Esper at an impressive speed for a Pokémon of his size. Esper, knowing how likely it was for her to be able to dodge, quickly guarded with her two vines.

It happen a bit quicker than I could follow. A golden light flashed from nowhere, and a ball of light tore toward the fight. It met the target just when Clumsy was almost upon Esper. A burst of light exploded upon collision, one so bright I had to look away or risk being blinded. When it faded, I noticed a golden Pidgeot (made of light of course) shielding Esper with wings spread wide.

"K. Lumsy, I would suggest you stop your needless antics, as they disrupt the peace we work for. Esper, the same goes for you. Take Hope and go to one of the side rooms," The Pidgeot instructed, giving off the air that she was not to be messed with while folding her wings.

"Yes, Memento," Esper and K. Lumsy replied, though obviously strained. Memento nodded seriously and pushed K. Lumsy away a few paces, then walked away.

"Hey, Esp," I started, feeling a bit bolder. "What's up with Memento?"

"That's just what we all call her, since she won't tell us her real name. She's fine with it, and anyway, it kind of stuck," Esper replied, strolling along. "She was fatally injured as she completed her first mission for the guild, but she defeated the enemy so fast after that that they went down with her, which is part of why we call her Memento. The other reason is that she's kind of... how to say... emo. She's one of the best, though, and she's also Glint's deputy."

"Who's Glint?" I inquired, sauntering along beside her.

Esper thought for a moment before replying. "She's the leader of this branch. The rest is prohibited info, so I'm not allowed to tell you that either."

As I opened my mouth to ask another question, I felt a sudden jolt of pain pass through me. I staggered, falling to my knees. Esper, hearing the thump, turned around. Her eyes widened as she saw me.

"Oh Arceus," she breathed in horror, staring at me.

I looked down, my eyes becoming large as well as I saw what I'd become. My skin was similar to the Pokémon around me, but just in substance. The colour...

It was pitch black.

I might've ran around screaming had it not been for the fact that my energy was draining away. I collapsed, vision blurring and hearing fading. I faintly caught a glimpse of Esper calling out (for help, I presume) and felt myself being wrapped in something sparkly and carried away. As I finally fell asleep, I heard Esper's voice echo through my head.

_It will be all right._

* * *

Esper's POV

I nervously followed Saffron into the laboratory, where she set what was left of Hope on a table. Hope had faded into sort of a ball of darkness: definitely not a good sign. The diamond on the shiny Espeon-who-was-called-Saffron's head shined for a moment, then dulled. A moment later, a few Pokémon walked through the door. One was a Kadabra, another an Amoonguss, and the third a Pachirisu.

"Never seen one of these cases before," the Amoonguss remarked. Then, he noticed me. "Oh, are you it's Protector?"

I frowned slightly at his use of the word 'it'. "Yeah."

He made an amused face, as if holding down a laugh, turning away slightly. "What's so funny?" I asked apprehensively.

But he never answered, just sniggered and looked over the Kadabra's shoulder at Hope. Bugger.

The Pachirisu wagged her tail slightly, a thoughtful expression upon her features. "You know, I think I remember something like this happening when Lord Ho-oh was in charge of this branch," she remarked.

"Maybe so, but even if that is the case, it is not exactly smiled upon to contact the former leader of either branch if you were never one yourself," the Kadabra replied.

The Amoonguss smirked. "Just because it isn't smiled upon doesn't mean it's not allowed, now, does it?" he pointed out slyly.

"I suppose you're right," the Pachirisu admitted. "Hey,Saffron?"

Saffron nodded. "Got it," she answered. Closing her eyes, she lowered her head and concentrated. The scarlet gem on her forehead gleamed brightly, bathing the whole room a warm, fiery crimson.

An odd voice echoed through the room. "Yeeeeeeees?"

"Hello, Lord Ho-oh," the Pachirisu spoke. "We have a-"

"Before you go any further, I'd like you to call me Eternity," Ho-oh replied. "All this 'Lord Ho-oh' stuff is way too formal for me, and anyway, isn't it considered impolite now to call someone by their species name even when you know their name?"

The Pachirisu looked like she might've sweatdropped, had this been an anime. "Y-yes, Eternity. We have a situation involving a Halfling."

Eternity sighed "Geez, another one of those? I thought we were all done with them when Tempa decided he had had enough of-"

"That was Evening Star branch, Eternity," the Pachirisu sighed. "And Glare is the new leader of that branch."

"Oh, well, whatever. Time to get down to work, I suppose," Eternity muttered.

* * *

Shade's POV

Wires leaned back as I finished my story. I had told him about from when we had left Joy Hill a couple days ago until now, excluding that Hope was a human and I was, well, outlawed. He frowned in concentration.

"That's either the bravest thing I've heard of, or the stupidest," he finally told me. "Almost everyone knows that the Shadow Brigand is scared silly of their leader. There's a reason for everything, and this was no exception."

I huffed slightly. "Well, now they probably think I'm dead, _and _I've gotten some useful information," I replied. "No harm, no foul, I say."

"No harm? You were almost _killed_ because you didn't think it through enough," he growled.

"Yes, but I wasn't," I retorted. I knew it was childish of me, but still...

"I'm not always going to be there to save you!" Wires shot back angrily. "You might not've been killed _this _time, but what about the next time you decide to do this? Do you just assume you'll be rescued every time you mess up?"

"I'm not-!" He cut me off with a raised hand. Still fuming, I glared at him, but he just shook his head and crept toward the entrance. Puzzled, I followed. We both peeked over the rim of the hole, and I learned of what Wires had heard.

Misty was floating around, not 20 feet from the burrow we were in, mumbling crossly to herself about who-knows-what. Probably me. I smirked a very Zorua-ish smirk at her obvious displeasure.

"That one of your friends?" Wires whispered.

"No, but I know her," I hissed back. A sudden thought struck me, and I ducked back into the burrow, Wires tagging along, albeit more slowly.

Quickly running a brief Ctrl-F of my mental list of Pokémon, I chose an ideal one for what I planned to do. I focused on my every experience with them, concentrating on every detail of their bodies I could think of. I brought out my powers of illusion and transformed within a dark light.

Wires let out a low whistle, crossing his arms and wagging his tail in approval. "Nice Scizor imitation," he commented.

I examined my metallic claws, looking over them for mistakes. "See anything out of place?" I asked Wires, as this was the first time I had made a Scizor of myself. He looked over my illusion carefully, pointing out mistakes and me fixing them as he went. When I was prepped for my 'mission', I climbed the slope of the sandy tunnel and climbed out the top into the desert, pausing for a moment.

Wires tailed me out, clambering over the mouth of the tunnel. "What're you-?" I shushed him with the flick of a wing, then started off up the sand dune Misty was floating at the top of. I heard the zap of electricity behind me, and did a 180 to find Wires soaring up into the sky, flapping the membrane of his 'wings' slightly.

I trudged up the dune to the fuming Misdreavus. She was so immersed in her irritation that I had to poke her a couple times.

"What?" she grumbled, turning around with the sourest expression I had ever seen.

"Hello, Misty," I replied coolly, taking a step forward.

Misty floated backward a foot. "Do I know you?" she asked uncertainly.

I opened a claw. Before she could react, I pinned her to the sand, pressing the side of her head into the little specks of rock.

Letting my vocal cords slip back to normal, I snarled, "I believe you owe me some information."

Misty's eyes widened in disbelief. "Shade?" she whispered. "H-how did you survive the poison? Hazard's poison is the most potent anywhere."

I grinned at that. "Doesn't mean I can't recover from it." If Wires heard that, he would probably not be pleased.

...With those ears, he probably heard it. Darn.

I disposed of the smirk, further smushing Misty into the sand so that it was impossible to get away. "I hadn't finished with my questions before you so rudely interrupted, so I will continue them now," I said in a serious voice. "How precisely did you three know Hope was a human?"

Misty let out an annoyed sigh. "Didn't you know Ghost Pokémon can float through walls? Honestly..." she muttered. "Comes in handy when you want to eavesdrop. And I feel like eavesdropping an awful lot. That's also how I found out about you, you didn't know."

That was simply more proof to my belief that she was a rude pedophile. Meh. "Oh, and who is this Pokémon that you said Hope worked for? Sooty?"

"...I don't know," Misty admitted uneasily. "Ever since the Red Light, Hazard's kept to himself and not said a word about anything important to either of us. And you saw how he acted back there: he was totally ruthless, willing to go any length to get what he wanted. He… wasn't originally like that. He was cunning, sure, but he never threatened to kill anyone and actually _meant _it." Her voice had a sad ring to it.

I contemplated this for a second. The Red Light had happened last year, and it caused an odd aftereffect of a lot more outlaws. Bright red beams of light had suddenly seared across the sky for well over an hour, and none of the scientists could figure it out. Later, they received word from islands all throuought the Monster Sea, including Pocket, Treasure, and Post Islands*, that the rays had reached there as well, though not nearly as brightly.

"And now, it's about time I took my leave," Misty interrupted my thoughts. "Goodbye!" She tried to power up a Shadow Ball, but I slammed my free claw onto the sand half an inch in front of her mouth so quickly she was startled out of it.

"If I find out you so much as hinted to Hazard that I'm still alive, I swear on my honor I'll hunt you down and bury you in this exact spot. I'll bury you so deeply you'll suffocate before you reach the top," I threatened.

I picked her up, head still clamped in my claw. She wiggled and struggled, hair and skirtlike bottom waving erratically, but it was for naught. I drew my arm back as far as I could and whipped her as far away as I could manage (which was pretty far, I must say). Misty finally landed when she was almost so far away I couldn't see her. No joke.

I sighed and let go of my illusion. "_That _was much needed," I mumbled to myself.

Wires descended from the sky, landing on the hot desert sand. "If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought you a rival outlaw," he chuckled.

I hid a wince. _Those words hold more meaning than you might think, _I thought darkly. My mind suddenly became aware of another idea, and I struggled to put it into words. _I'm not... becoming a _real _outlaw... Am I? _What I had done certainly was something you could find a criminal doing, I knew that.

Was I becoming the convict I was 'wrongly' known to be?

...

_NO. I would never stoop that low._

And at that, I firmly pushed the matter out of my mind.

I transformed into the familiar disguise of Hane. I adjusted my Power Band, which until then I had forgotten about. I spread my wings and took flight, Wires gliding along behind me.

"Where're you off to?" Wires asked. "You're not fully healed yet!"

I spun around in midair. Wires wheeled his arms maniacally to keep from running into me. "Look, I know I was being stupid when I said it didn't matter that I was almost killed. What I _meant _was that since I can't go back and change it, I shouldn't worry about how injured I got or how I could've done it differently, just that I got some useful information."

"And _I _was saying that since you almost got killed, you should think things over more and not just do something as soon as you think of it," Wires replied tartly.

I winced slightly. I had been told plenty of times before that I was hasty. "Point taken. Now can I go meet up with Leafbud and Satou?"

Wires nodded. I turned back around and headed off toward the distant coast, where I knew that beyond that lay Pechigi Island and my team. Hopefully Satou wasn't going to rip my head off in anxious anger, but you never know.

-End of Chapter 13-

* * *

*** The locations of Red/Blue Rescue Teams, Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky, and Gates to Infinity. Sorry about the name for the Rescue Team island, but there was already a Pokemon Island in Pokemon Snap (I know it's a lame excuse, but still).**

**A/N: Hopefully that somewhat makes up for the three months or so that I didn't post anything. -.-' Sorry 'bout that.**

**Gates to Infinity came out a week ago... man, I wish I had more than $10...**

**The endings of chapters are useless unless they are a cliffhanger.**

**X and Y, comin' out worldwide in October! Fun stuff! I can't figure out whether I want X or Y... I feel like I should get Y, but I think it'll be like Palkia in that I like him at first, then I kind of get sick of him and want the other version legendary instead. Because Palkia dropped me off a cliff, and I'll not forgive him for that.**

**I'm thinking of having distributions based on the characters in this story. I have half of these charas already in my White 2, and if I upload them onto Pokecheck, turn them into a .pkm file, then upload them onto Pokegts, and give the URL, then you guys can have moar Pokes! :D (that is, if you know how to get Pokemon like that. If not, there are instructions on Pokegts and Pokecheck.)**

**I just created Eternity's personality on a whim. Now that I think about it, he's kind of like Wigglytuff in that they both have unexpected personalities.**

**Oh yeah, and I only got White 2 because Reshiram is in it. I also have Black. Zekrom is even dumber than fabric, in my opinion.**

**I ship Wireade. :P**

**Hope, Esper, K. Lumsy, Wires, Saffron, Shade, Memento, Eternity, and Misty all belong to me, Esper13.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry! :)**


	14. The Path of Redemption

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 14: The Path of Redemption

* * *

Hope's POV

_Hoooooooopeyyyyyyyyy?_

…_ugh…_

_Wake up, Hopey~!_

…_Don't call me that…_

_What, Hopey? Ohhh, I think I willll! Hopey dopey Hopey dopey-_

_Shut up._

_-DOPEY HOPEY DOPEY HOPEY DOPEY HOPEY-_

_SHUT UP!_

My eyes flew open, searching for that blasted Esper. If she called me 'Hopie' one more time, I swear-

…

…?

I was in… Rhyme caves, apparently. Esper was nowhere in sight. How did she-?

"HOOOOPE~!"

A Pokémon glomped me from behind, making me fall over again. I dimly recognised the voice as Satou's. I wiggled out of her hug and stood up, helping her up with a vine.

"Y'know, most people are cranky when you wake them up," I hinted.

_What are you, crazy? That was me, dum-dum._

I froze._ Esperrrr? When did you get in there?_

I dimly registered Satou's voice in front of me. "…ou wouldn't wake up, even when we shook you as ha…" _Prolly a side effect… _I thought absently.

_Oh, last night._

_Dafuq?_

_You know how you, liek, fainted?_

_Yeah…_

"Hooope? You in there?" Satou waved a paw in front of my face.

_Well, the only cure that's been found so far is to merge with a member of the Guild. And that was me!_

…_Are you seriously stuck in my head?_

_Yup! And it's gonna be so fun!_

_..._

"Sorry, I'm still kinda half asleep," I answered absentmindedly.

_How rude!_

_Heh…_

"Let's gooooooo!" I announced at Satou (and Misty and Alan, too, but I had forgotten about them for some reason), skipping out of the cave entrance. Everybody followed me.

* * *

We headed straight, mainly because we had nowhere to go, and Satou and Misty struck up a conversation. She soon insisted that Satou call her Orabel because she liked the name better, and also because she 'didn't want to be confused with the Misty you so dislike'. I found out that Orabel and Alan were an Adventure Squad called Resolution Squad. Satou replied (ecstatically, of course) that we also ran one named Snapdragon Squad. Orabel also told us that she and Alan had been exploring Pechigi Island for undiscovered treasures.

They fell silent, and we trudged on, the only sounds the _tap-tap _of our paws/feet on the ground (and the occasional _crunch-crunch _through snow), the cool wintry air flowing crisply around us. The sky was hiding behind a blanket of steely grey clouds. I shivered slightly, but I was used to the cold by now. A thought struck me, but I kept the idea that sprung from it down. Best to keep it until an optimal time. Instead, I asked Esper a question.

_Hey, Esp? …Can I call you Esp?_

_Yeah, sure._

_Who are… you? Like, why do you follow me around? Are you a pedophile?_

_Dude, that's gotta be the most insulting thing I've ever been asked._

_I was kidding. But still._

_I'm just an average Guardian, that's all. Your Guardian, in fact. It's my job to look after you, give you advice, things like that._

_Sounds important…_

_No, it really isn't. In fact, Guardians are the lowest-ranked in the Guild._

…_Oh._

…

…

…

_Esper? Can I ask another question?_

Esper let out a sigh. _You just did. Go ahead._

_Why do you have such a weird personality? It's like, first you were this gruff Gym teacher-like person, and then you were all normal and casual, a little bit bubbly, then you were this hyperactive nutcase, and now you're getting depressingly dull, even a little somber. What's up with that?_

_All Guardians are like this. We're a bit unstable like that, but we get used to it._

"Yo, Hope. Stop." It was Satou. I stopped, wondering why. "We've reached the shore." …Derp.

It was true. A lonely stretch of rocky beach was spread out before us. Beyond it was a sea almost as grey as the sky, and was sloshing about rather deterringly. I slightly dreaded crossing it.

Alan, who had kept quiet most of the time, walked up to the water's edge and looked around uneasily. "How're we gonna cross this? We can't _all _hang onto your back, Ora," he asked Orabel, who also glanced up and down the beach.

"I suppose we could go ask that Dewgong down there for a ride," she suggested, pointing to the end of the beach.

We hurried down to where Orabel had pointed to, and just as she had said, there was a Dewgong lazing about on a rock, a short distance from the shore.

"Heeeeey-! Dewgong!"Alan called.

The Dewgong looked at us curiously. "Yes?" she asked.

"If it's not too much trouble, could you give us a ride to Conokamo Island, please?" he asked politely.

She blinked. After a pause- "All right." She slipped into the water, making large ripples.

Alan paused. "Are you sure? We don't want to cause you any trouble-"

"Nonsense," she said, swishing her tail lightly. "I need the exercise anyway. Climb on!"

Alan, Satou, and I climbed on Dewgong's back, me moving Satou with my vines so that she wouldn't get wet. Orabel swam up beside us, tails whirling like a little propeller, floatation sac inflated. Dewgong pushed off from the rock with her fins, Orabel following suit.

"By the way," Dewgong said. "My name's Amethyst."

"Amethyst, huh…" Alan mumbled. "I think I remember that it means 'not intoxicated'*. You're sober, right?"

Amethyst laughed. "I'm pretty sure."

It was a little strange to be bobbing along, bobbing along on the surface of the briny (just briny) sea*2 on a living thing. I liked boats better. Though I suppose riding on Shade's back wasn't all that different.

…I remembered being on a boat?

_Nah, it's more like a subconscious memory. All you know is that you've been on a boat._

…_Oh…_

I felt a slight pang of loss, followed by one of annoyance at the fact that my memories were still missing.

Then, I noticed something in the distance, in the air. It looked like some kind of large bird, with an oddly shaped flying something following it.

Suddenly, Amethyst dove into the water, leaving Satou, Alan and I splashing about, gasping for air on the surface. The sea was icy cold, colder than a freezer, and my muscles quickly started to freeze up. Add to that I'd never had a swimming lesson that dealt with Chikoritas before, and you've got a recipe for a one-way trip to Arceus's realm. In a last ditch attempt to live, I waved my vines high up into the air, gargling, "YO! DOWN HERE!" as well as I could. Hopefully they'd notice us.

The bird and the UFO descended to sea level, and I saw they were a Pidgeot and an Emolga, respectively. The Emolga wore a bright pink scarf edged in lime green around his neck, and the Pidgeot wore an orange Power Band on his right shoulder.

…Well, _her _right shoulder, actually.

As soon as she picked me up (she did so by the scruff of my neck, which was slightly embarrassing and a little more painful) and placed me on her back, I said, "Hello, Shade. Have a nice trip?"

Shade winced slightly. "Sorry," she muttered as she plucked Satou out of the water the same way and plunked her in front of me. Satou coughed up some water, and I patted her on the back, then hugged her, trying to warm her up.

I looked down to the water and saw Orabel balancing Alan on her back. It was kind of a challenge, since he was a bit bigger than she was, but Alan held on as best he could, paddling with his hind feet.

The Emolga glided over to Shade and whispered something into her ear. She nodded and turned around to face the somewhat distant shoreline of Conokamo Island, diving and pulling up to gain altitude and speed. The wind felt great in my leaf, but I had a job to do.

* * *

_And now, we have an announcement to make._

_Feed your Pokémon with Pokémon food!_

_That is all._

* * *

In almost no time at all, we were on the shore of a lonely-looking desert. Satou and I disembarked from Shade's back, who promptly transformed back into a Zorua. Alan also let go of Orabel's back and trudged up onto the beach, shaking water from his fur like a dog.

I stretched, yawning. "Jeeeeeez, we gotta walk through a _desert_? Can't we just go somewhere that doesn't have extreme temperature problems?"

Satou raised a paw. "I think we should introduce our acquaintances first," she suggested.

The Emolga nodded. "My name is Wires," he stated, bowing.

"I'm Shadowbolt," Alan said.

"And I'm Orabel," Orabel said.

"Okey-dokey, let's go," I said, walking in the direction I assumed was south. After a second's hesitation, everyone followed me.

* * *

Shade's POV

Our little group of Pokémon trudged south. Why, I didn't know, but we did. I was happy Hope and Satou were safe.

"Hey, Shade," Hope said. "Did you seriously go to confront the leader of those two bumbling idiots?"

I could swear my heart skipped a beat. Did Satou tell her? "W-why would you say that?"

"Overwhelming evidence that you had done so showed itself to me in the form of Satou yesterday, even though she was unaware of it," Hope seethed slightly.

I looked away. "Sorry," I whispered. " I wanted to know how to throw them off of our- or rather _your_- trail, so I disguised myself as you and purposely got kidnapped to ask them questions. The leader, Hazard, was a Seviper, and he nearly killed me before he found out I wasn't you. I escaped, and Wires healed me when he found me bleeding in the desert. I owe him my life."

Hope's face was a mixture of guilt, relief, and pure rage. "That was the _stupidest _idea I've ever heard of," she growled. "You could've-"

"Save it, Hope," I interrupted, sighing. "I already got the same lecture from Wires, and I promise to never do it again. Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay," she replied quietly. "But, Shade, what exactly did you find out?"

"Hmm..." I thought for a minute. "The only actually interesting things I found out were that Misty spies on us through the wall, and that Hazard wants to kill you supposedly because of who you work for, and it's not Sooty."

"Huh...I don't know who that would be..." Hope pondered.

We walked on for a bit longer. I wasn't sure where exactly we were going, but it felt like we were headed in the right direction.

"Hey, Hope," I said finally. "What do you think we should do now?"

She was silent for a little while, like she hadn't heard me. Her eyes were unfocused and she was barely looking where she was walking. I was about to ask again when she answered, "I'm gonna present our case to Sooty-sama. Otherwise, we won't be allowed to live peacefully."

I could admit it was a smart idea, if not for the fact that there wasn't a 100% chance that it would work because of hard-headedness on Arkide's part.

"Yeah, alright. Let's do that," I responded decisively.

* * *

(massive time-skip because I'm too lazy to write this)

(cue ridiculous filler scene)

(TrOlOlOlOlOloOoOoOoL _lol_)

* * *

"So, who's gonna make food?" Shadowbolt asked, lying on the floor of our base. We had decided to stay at Joy Hill for the night, because the sun was starting to set, and we would go see Sooty-sama and Arkide in the morning.

Immediately both Satou and Wires raised their paws. Noticing this, they glared at each other, trying to make the other back down. I sensed a fight brewing.

"Hey, hey, why don't you collaborate?" I suggested. "Satou can make the drinks and Wires can make... something edible."

Neither of them looked very happy with this arrangement, but they got to work, Satou squishing berries into a bucket and Wires chopping up cloves with a knife (loljk no he wasn't) (**OH ARCEUS I CAN'T BELIEVE I EVEN-**).

In almost no time at all, the food was done. Wires had made some sort of pie. Oran, maybe? Satou had made juice out of a couple Pecha berries she had had and some water. It was in a bucket.

Orabel poked at her piece of pie. "I don't trust this guy's cooking. It looks weird," she commented before sniffing the pie.

I giggled. "Trust me, it'll be awesome. Wires really knows how to make food."

Wires shot me a skeptical look. "Please," he answered drily. "I just use my head and experiment a bit."

I shrugged, grinning annoyingly. "Doesn't stop it from tasting amazing," I persisted in telling him.

Satou poured the juice into mugs (I had a lot of those things; I collected them) and we sat down to eat our food.

As soon as Shadowbolt took a bite of his pie, his eyes bulged. "OH MY ARCEUS THIS PIE IS AMAZING!" he practically screamed.

If this had been a manga, we would all have sweatdropped. "Just eat the pie," Orabel told him, sipping her juice.

"This juice isn't half bad either," he commented happily, draining his mug of the stuff.

Satou stared at him. "Uh... thanks... I think..." she mumbled.

"Shadow..." Orabel growled slightly.

"And these mugs! They're pretty cool looking."

"Sha...dow..."

"Hey, Hope, can I have _your _juice?"

"No. Get your own, baka."

"SHADOWBOLT JUST SHUT UP AND EAT THE DAMN PIE!"

Shadowbolt sniggered under his breath. Everyone else stared at the two.

"Hehe..." Hope started giggling, covering her mouth with a clawed foot. Eventually she couldn't keep it in anymore. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!" She ROFL'd.

o-o'

* * *

I legit needed that. And now, back to the story.

* * *

Hope ended the Skype session with a final stab at the ground. "Well, Sooty-sama and Arkide'll be waiting in the town square at 1:00 today, so we'd better get moving." She pulled off the_ I-mech _and set it on the floor.

We had had leftover juice and pie for breakfast. Needless to say, Shadowbolt behaved himself this time (only because Orabel was giving him an extended stare), and Hope had arranged a meeting with Sooty-sama and Arkide. I had slept inside with Hope and Satou, and Wires, Shadowbolt and Orabel had slept outside (only because they wanted to; Wires and Shadowbolt because it was ground and they were Electric-types, and Orabel because it was simply too dry in there).

"Question," Orabel said, raising a paw. "What do you need to talk to Susu-sama for?"

"Susu-sama?" I questioned.

"Susu means 'soot'," Hope replied, then looked slightly troubled.

"I know, but _why _did you call him Susu-sama?"

"Because it sounds cooler. The question, please?"

There was a pause. "They're ticked at Shade," Satou replied carefully. "We're trying to get them to calm down. You probably shouldn't come; it could get ugly." She glanced at Shadowbolt and Wires.

"Shade is my friend, and therefore I'll be there to support her," Wires replied smoothly.

"Yeah, any friend of a friend of mine is a friend of mine too!" Shadowbolt added enthusiastically.

"Suit yourself," I sighed.

Our group departed quickly, and headed toward Spire Village. It took longer than usual, probably because I was so nervous, but eventually I glimpsed our destination on the horizon. I paused for a heartbeat, but continued on, following Wires and Satou diligently.

But one thought occupied my mind, one stronger than all the others.

_When they find out about me... _

_What will they do?_

-End of Chapter 14-

* * *

*** - I found that out while I was researching gems and stuff. True story, bro.**

***2 – If you've never watched Bedknobs and Broomsticks, you never had a childhood. Loljk**

**A/N: Well, uh, at least it wasn't two months this time! Hehe~**

**MY GOSH I HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR PMD3 NOW! squeee~ I'm gonna be Tsutarja, and my partner'll be Mijumaru, and I'm gonna name them Kurumi and Rainclouds. Yeah. I THOUGHT OF THAT COMBO FIRST-!**

**I might be going to an anime convention at the end of Juuune~! If I can go, I'm tots going as Jirachi. And there's a Pokémon photoshoot, so that's awesome. :P**

**Welp, in case you dudes didn't already notice, I've got a link to download a Hazard on my profile, so yeah. And I'll have a link for someone else up, too! :D I'll post one chara per chap.**

**Oh, and because I'm so nice (and because I really don't understand it myself), I'll give you guys a chart of the days/events of Snapdragon's little exile. v v**

-  
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 |

|Escape | Journey1 | Rhyme Caves | Conokamo | -Hope & Satou

| I I | Torture | Sleeeeepy~ | Wires / II | -Shade  
-

**Fun stuff :D**

**Hope, Esper, Shade, Amethyst, and Wires are property of me, Esper13.**

**Alan and Orabel are property of allen5.**

**Satou is property of NewYearJirachi.**

**Oh yeah, and NYJ keeps trying to ship Satou and Shade. She's convinced they're like Clove and Katniss from the Hunger Games (she ships them, too). Even though I don't DO homo ships with my own characters. Except for Hane and Garnet, lol. But that's kind of a crackship. And Garnet's a half-lezzie, because she fell in love with 'Hane' (Shade) except she didn't know Hane was Shade. But Shade was still Shade, see, and also still a girl, sooooo... yeah. ;3;**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!**


	15. An Ordeal of Fate

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 15: An Ordeal of Fate

* * *

Shade's POV

Morning light shimmered onto the cobblestones of Spire Villiage as our little group marched through for our meeting with Sooty-sama and Officer Arkide.

I could've told you I wasn't nervous, but on the contrary, I swear I was almost to the point of having a heart attack. My heart just wouldn't slow down, no matter what I told myself. I hoped to Arceus I wouldn't be thrown in jail again, because that place was awful. If need be, I suppose I could always flee and disguise myself again, hide as a Staraptor or something (I liked birds, especially big ones), but I really wanted to avoid that.

I ran into Wires, who had stopped suddenly, and he wheeled his arms for balance. We had reached the town square. I looked over his shoulder, and saw that Sooty and Arkide had already gotten there, along with a small crowd. Apparently they were curious as to what was going on.

"So!" Arkide started, looking furious. "We meet again, arsonist!"

There was a small gasp. "Arson...ist?" Wires whispered, looking fearfully at me.

It hurt. It really did.

I stepped forward. "That's why we're here," I replied angrily. "Because _you _two _still _don't believe I didn't do that!"

Arkide's eight eyes narrowed. "And what proof do we have that you didn't? Yes, that's it. Your foul, lying mouth."

Sooty sighed annoyedly. "Before we go too far, I'd like to suggest that we arrange ourselves in an orderly fashion for a proper trial."

"Yes, let's," Arkide spat at me.

All of the Pokémon present assembled into a courtlike setting. Sooty was the judge, I (of course) was the accused, Arkide was the accuser, a group of Pokémon were the jury, and everyone else (including my friends) were just spectators.

"We have gathered here for the trial of Shade the Zorua, accused of burning down her family's home two years ago on May 5th, 2010, by doing so also murdering Domino the Zoroark and Rage the Nidoking, and murdering one Indigo the Zorua shortly after," Sooty stated, adjusting his X-ray Specs. I winced; I hadn't told them I was charged for Indigo too. "You deny said charges?"

"Of course!" I replied hotly. "Why would-"

"And what evidence do you have of this?" he interrupted loudly.

I stayed silent. I had no witnesses, no pictures, no nothing. How had I expected to win this? I shifted my weight akwardly.

"Sooty-sama, allow me to present _my _witness, since Shade is unable to offer hers," Arkide requested, shooting me a look of contempt.

"Yes, you may," Sooty replied calmly.

"Comet!" he called. A Ledyba rose out of the crowd and landed beside Arkide. "Comet, can you tell us what you saw that day, please?"

"Mm-hmm," he answered quietly. "I was coming home from school, and I saw Shade running toward her house. She was cackling this weird laugh."

I think my brain died just then. I stared at Comet, not comprehending. My face deadpanned.

And then I mentally facepalmed.

I had been told by my teacher that I had gotten the best marks in Biology and that I would most likely get a scholarship to go to one of the bigger islands and learn advanced Sciences that day. I had been a bit immature back when I was 9, and was a bit prone to laughing like a Mightyena. I thought he had known; my teacher had told the school (tearfully, of course) that she 'couldn't believe that one of her brightest students had done something so terrible', and 'it was a shame I couldn't have used the scholarship she had been going to recommend me for'. I hadn't graduated, of course.

"I followed her, and she ran into her house. A few minutes later, fire started pouring out of the windows, and she shot out of the house, face covered in blood, and ran deep into the forest. I followed the trail of blood she left, and along the path, there was Indigo's body, a huge hole torn out of it and gushing out blood. A-and then... well..." Comet's voice faded.

"Thank you, Comet. You've been most helpful," Arkide said, shooting me a smug look. Comet flew back to his spot in the crowd. "And now, we know for sure that Shade is most certainly guilty."

"I haven't told _my _part of the story yet!" I shouted.

"Very well. Tell your story, Shade," Sooty-sama answered.

"Well, I was running home from school, and I was laughing 'cause I got some good news from Miss Nocturne, and I ran into the house to tell Mom and Dad. What I didn't expect to find was my parents tied up on the floor. Indigo was standing over them, grinning, and I asked her why she would do this. She said, 'Because I want you to feel the pain I'm feeling'. A-and..." My throat closed for a second. I swallowed and continued. "And then she smashed me into the wall, and carved a Z into my cheek. 'The last letter of the human alphabet, and also your last day alive,' she smirked, and dropped a flaming match onto the floor. The house was in flames when I finally gathered enough strength to run out of there. I never stopped, not even for breath." My voice broke.

"And what of Indigo?" Arkide prodded.

I hesitated. "I dunno," I said. "I've never seen her again, even to this day."

There was silence for a moment. "A lie if I ever saw one! Capture her!" Arkide ordered.

I opened my mouth to protest, but someone else got there first. "Hey!" Someone flew over my head and landed in front of me. "You are NOT going to hurt my friend!" It was... Garnet?

I'd known for a long time that she'd had feelings for Hane, but I didn't think she would be so keen on helping me when I'd been exposed. "Garnet, you don't have to-"

"Yes, I do, Shade," she snapped. "I still love you, no matter if you're a boy or not." Wow. I thought she was perfectly straight.

Arkide rose an eyebrow. "That may be so, Miss Garnet, but we aren't going to let a criminal go because of _love_," he pointed out.

"I _know _Shade, and I also know that she wouldn't do something like this," Garnet retaliated.

He sighed. "We don't know if it's an act or not, so we have to lock her up in case it is," he stated, exasperated.

"It is _not _an act." Wires landed beside me. "She could've killed any one of us while we were all asleep if she really wanted to. But she didn't."

"Ugh!" Arkide stamped his feet in irritation. "I'm telling you, it's an act! The evidence is overwhelming! Lock, Shock, seize her!"

Before I could move, a Cofagrigus snatched me up. I tried to struggle out of his grip, but an Eelektross shot a Thunder Wave at me.

"A-aaugh!" I screamed, feeling my limbs go numb. Wave after wave of electricity pulsed through me, and I knew I was powerless to do anything.

"Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!"

A Deerling ran out of the crowd, followed by a Mienfoo and a... Fennekin, I think. The Fennekin wore a purple scarf I recognised as a Sneak Scarf around her neck. They stopped in the front.

"Mr. Arkide, Shade helped save me from that evil Misdreavus girl, Misty," the Deerling protested. Basil? "She couldn't be bad if she did that."

Arkide growled under his breath. "I'll say it again. The evidence is too overwhelming for it to be fake,"

Meanwhile, the other two were trying to talk to Sooty-sama.

"Father, I must insist you prevent the Officer from doing this. It just isn't right," the Fennekin said, brushing golden fur out of her eyes.

"I'd like to, Quinn," Sooty replied hopelessly. "But once Arkide gets going, it's a lot harder to stop him."

The Mienfoo tapped his foot. "But Sooty-sama, you're the mayor of this town, as well as leader of the PASF. He _has _to listen to you," he (she?) countered.

"Taro, he's very dedicated to his job. To the point of being a total jerk, maybe, but he won't let an outlaw get away if he can help it."

"Lock, lock her up." The Cofagrigus nodded and opened up, revealing a cloud of darkness inside him. He threw me inside and closed up.

The darkness was painful. It was like magnifying the heat of a fire by 100, and coupled with the paralysis, it really felt like hell. I cried out, my voice echoing through Lock's body.

_HURTSHURTSHURTSMAKEITSTOPPLEASEHELPME_

"Shaddup in there!" The darkness pressed down on me, squishing me to the bottom of Lock's body. I could hardly breathe, let alone scream. I felt my consciousness slipping, and wished it would fade so I wouldn't have to feel this.

_PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEITHURTSSOMUCHI'MBEGGINGYOUSTOP_

Eventually, it did.

* * *

Satou's POV

Shade's shrieks of pain faded away inside Lock. I hoped she was alright. Arkide was really very barbaric. I'd have to murder him after I've rescued Shade.

I poked Comet, who was sitting in front of me. He turned around. "Please, Comet," I asked. "Are you sure that's absolutely _everything _you remember about that day?"

"...No," he answered sadly. "I'm sure there was _something_; I just can't put my hand on it."

"Please, please, _please_ try to remember," I begged. "My friend's life depends on it."

But Comet wasn't listening. His eyes were unfocused and quickly going wall-eyed. I set my jaw in frustration. He wasn't going to help, was he?

Suddenly, Comet's eyes lit up, and he shot bolt upright. "Hold on!" he exclaimed, flying toward Arkide, who had been retreating with Lock and Shock. "There was something else!"

"What is it?" he inquired.

"When I was following the trail of blood, I noticed that it was diluted," Comet explained. "That either meant she had just washed her face, or she was crying." Arkide paused and looked at him, an uneasy expression lacing his features.

Sooty-sama approached Arkide. "My dear officer, please reconsider. The 'overwhelming evidence' is pointing in the other direction. Is that correct, jury?"

The Pokémon looked at each other before slowly nodding in agreement.

He was silent for a minute. "I guess... I guess you're right," Arkide admitted finally. "Lock, release Shade." Lock opened up, and Shade tumbled onto the ground, smoking slightly. She didn't get up.

I pushed my way out of the crowd and ran up to Shade. Garnet and Wires were already there. The electricity was still vibrating across her body. She was out cold.

"Let's take her somewhere safe," Wires said. "Garnet, can we go to your house?"

She blinked. "Sure."

A pair of vines wrapped around Shade and gently picked her up. I turned, and saw Hope placing Shade on her back.

"I..." Arkide started quietly. "I'm sorry about... what I did." He turned and walked away, Lock and Shock following him. The crowd quietly dispersed. Sooty-sama walked up to us, Basil and his friends following.

"You should know he'll be beating himself up for weeks," Sooty said, smiling sadly, looking at Shade, who was slumbering peacefully on Hope's back.

"He's just very dedicated to his job," Quinn added.

"Maybe so, but still..." I looked over at Hope. "Leafbud, where did Shadow and Orabel run off to?"

She shrugged. "Said they were gonna get a head start on their next journey. They're going to investigate Ishara Island," she replied. "And also because it would be kinda akward."

"Come on," Garnet said, starting to walk off. "Let's get Shade fixed up."

* * *

Shade's POV

The first thing that came to my mind was _this is not a good week_. Seriously, I needed a break. I'd been exiled, kidnapped, tortured, nearly _died_, interrogated some more, captured, and nearly died _again_. Honestly, if there was any more of this, I'd get past _nearly dying_.

Huh. That's funny. I wasn't stuck inside one of those sticky cocoons that that Galvantula (what was his name? Arcade?) made. There was some kind of fabric on top of me. I gripped it with a paw. My head pounded. I curled up even tighter than I had been before.

I tried opening my eyes, but the light was too bright. I shut them again. I opened my eyes, slowly this time, and they adjusted to the light.

I was in a house. Not jail, a house. In a bed. Whose house? Whose bed? I thought it was Garnet's (what was she again? Un... un-something... un-birthday?).

"Glad to see you're finally awake." I turned onto my side, and saw Hope, Satou, Wires, and Garnet gathered around my bed. Wires handed me a cup of red juice. "Drink this. It'll make you feel much better," he said.

I gripped the cup feebly and slurped some of the drink down. It instantly made me feel much better. I recognised the taste as Cheri Berry, but it was sweet, not spicy. Maybe he had added some Satou. She was sweet, anyway. I swallowed the rest of the juice and gave the cup back.

"So... You're an Un...fezant, you're an Emonga, you're a... Vulpix, and you're a Chiko... chiko... Chikorita, right?" I pointed at each of them in turn. They looked startled.

"Please don't tell me _you've _got memory problems, too," Hope said, exasperated.

I shook my head. "Nah, my brain's just a little fuzzy, that's all. Oh, wait; it was Emolga, not Emonga. What happened with the trial?"

Satou grinned. "After Comet recalled something else, they decided you were innocent, and Arkide ran off," she answered happily.

I blinked. "What was this new piece of evidence?"

"...That you were crying as you ran."

I had hoped he hadn't seen that. Oh well. "So, what now?" I asked, looking out the window. The sunlight had turned a golden-orange in the twilight.

Wires scratched the back of his head akwardly. "Uh, I was wondering... Can I join your squad?"

We stared at him. "Well, _I'm _alright with it," Satou replied. "How about you guys?"

"Yeah, me too."

"And me!"

"Well then, it's settled!" Hope announced. "Wires, you're now a member of Snapdragon Squad. Congrats!"

* * *

_And that was how_

_Our team got together_

_And I got out of hiding._

_To tell the truth_

_It wasn't very easy_

_But we managed to get through._

_Please be warned, though_

_That harder times are_

_Yet to come._

_-End of Arc One: A New Beginning._

-End of Chapter 15-

* * *

**A/N: This is the first time I've updated this fast in ever. oo**

**I'm a Shadie sadist, I know. lP**

**Don't mind Arkide, he's just really dedicated. He's actually a good guy (I think).**

**I had a burst of inspiration for this chapter, believe it or not, when I was sick this morning. I dunno.**

**According to some stupid online IQ test I took, I have an IQ level of 160+. Ho-leee crap. Wish I actually WAS that smart. o.O **

**Oh, and now that I take it again, I have an IQ of 151. That's, liek, Mew's number.**

**In a review for the last chapter, allen5 was liek "Will Garnet appear again?" and I was all liek HELL YESH SHE IS DOHOHOHOH- And I finished this chapter **_**before **_**I saw that. |D**

**Next chapter: Intermission/Chapter 16: Part one: Utter Defeat.**

**Hope, Shade, Wires, Sooty, Garnet, Arkide, Lock, and Shock all belong to me, Esper13.**

**Satou, Basil, Quinn, and Taro all belong to NewYearJirachi.**

**May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry! See ya, guys! ;)**


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